


Sapphire Eyes and Stomach Butterflies

by opheliasheart



Series: It Must Be Love [2]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/F, Fluff, Humour, Original Character(s), Romance, lots of fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-27
Updated: 2016-04-12
Packaged: 2018-04-28 08:17:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 27,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5085208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/opheliasheart/pseuds/opheliasheart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The apocalypse is before us. It is playing out right in front of our eyes. It begins as a ripple in the sea and slowly builds, it's waves growing.  It is the end of civilisation as we have ever known it to be and all of a sudden the tsunami hits us all. But what it is? What is the downfall of our species? In your class next Friday, I want a 10 to 15 minute presentation.</p><p>"It's the end of the world and you're still queasy about tampons?"<br/>Prompt by Tumblr by eye-down-there-im-not-that-short.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Underestimating PowerPoint Presentation

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of a series I've decided to do based on key events in the lives of Clarke and Lexa. In this we see their first encounter and the rambling mess they both become afterwards. Enjoy.

Ah, Ark High School.

An institution that prided itself on helping it's students develop a positive attitude to their learning and studies, focusing lessons on key skills that will help them not just in the school environment, but also to help them move forward and create the healthiest and happiest lives in the future.

New year. New classes. New opportunities...

At least that was the outlook Principle Jaha gave when addressing the students on the football pitch during registration. There was a form of excitement in the student body, however it was mainly in the form of meeting friends you hadn't seen during the summer and getting back to your preferred clubs.

For a few juniors at least, the first of these 'new opportunities' presented itself in the form of AP English Studies.

 

-

 

The English department corridor was packed with students travelling between classes, shouts and hollers from the hockey and football teams could be heard above the general chatter. Teens called out to friends with smiles and promises to catch up as the pass in opposite directions, some defying the laws of the mass river to block all movement and offer hugs (much to the annoyance of everyone else) before parting ways once more.

Amongst the sea of students, deep green eyes flickered about the corridor a little anxiously. The level of noise and lack of space was not something she was not used to and she was slowly going into sensory overload. Sweaty palms tugged the paper timetable out of her blazer pocket to check the room number again and then flipped to scan the map printed on the back of the page.

'Room 207. Room 207.' She chanted in their mind and ran her finger over the paper. She looked back up and checked the doors closest to her. 'Room 203. Room 204'. She rubbed her palms on her thighs and continued to follow the stream, making her way further down the corridor, scanning the walls and displays between doorways. Finally, room 207 came into view and she took a deep breath before entering the classroom.

The large room looked different to those in her previous school. Instead of individual desks, tables was pushed together to form small groups, enough for around 20 students. The walls were mostly covered in displays aiming to aid them with top tips or work completed by the student body and whilst there was a lot to look at, it wasn't too much  which she appreciated. The far wall was mostly made of windows to allow lots of natural light into the room.

"Hi there." The voice of the young teacher brought Lexa out of her trance, with a soft Irish accent.

"Hey," Lexa hesitantly glanced down at the paper. "Erm, I think I'm in here for AP English Studies with Miss Doherty?"

"Aye, you're in the right place. What's your name?" The brunette woman, who looked to be in her mid to late twenties, looked down to the register in front of her and took a sip from her steaming cup.

"Lexa Green. The register might say Alexandra Green but I would prefer Lexa if that is ok." Lexa said nervously, eyeing the rest of the class. A few students has walked in, bidding them 'good morning' before taking a seat.

"Of course it's fine." Miss Doherty clicks her pen and made a note beside Lexa's name whilst ticking off the faces she recognised in the room. She then returned her gaze to Lexa and offered her a warm smile. "I believe a welcome to Ark Academy is needed. I know it can be daunting walking into a new place knowing you're going to spend a lot of your time here. If you need a place if it gets a little overwhelming, my classroom is always open. Now pick a seat, any seat. I promise their barks are bigger than their bites." She gestured to the few chairs the were now empty and Lexa thanked her before stepping forward and quickly scanning the seating situation.

As she looked to a table in the middle, she met the gaze of a girl with beautiful blond hair and deep sapphire eyes. The girls eyes widen a little and red dusts her checks in recognition of being caught. She doesn't look away though and she offers Lexa a smile before patting the desk beside her as an open offer. Lexa returns the smile and lets out a sigh of relief, she didn't realise she had until the blond giggles and her own cheeks heat up as she makes her way to the empty chair.

"Thanks." Lexa says, now slightly embarrassed but mostly relieved.

"No worries. Glad to be of service. I'm Clarke." The girl offers her hand and Lexa laughs whilst shaking it.

"Lexa." 

"Nice to meet you. First day?"

"Yeah, my family and I just moved here from the Azgeda Mountains in Montana." She takes out her notepad and pen and places them on the table.

"Wow, I've heard it's lovely up there. Though it's a little warmer  here." Clarke said, offering yet another smile and Lexa feels her heart speed up a little.

"Yeah. Ahem," She pauses, choosing to look around the room rather than at Clarke to try and slow her heart rate. "It's.. erm.. a little overwhelming I guess. Everything is new. My school wasn't anywhere near this big. The corridor was really loud and busy." Lexa's eyes end up back at blue. Clarke emanated warmth and kindness and she couldn't help but feel reassured in her presence.

"Yeah, we are a noisy bunch. Plus the sports teams are very excitable - they're all holding their tryouts next week. New season and all."

"Ah, that's what all the shouting was for.."

"Yeah.. Plus it's the first day back. Everyone's kind of excited and the adrenalines pumping. So..." Clarke was about to continue when Miss Doherty clears her throat at the front of her class, leaning against her desk off to the side of the board mug in one hand and projector remote in the other.

"Right good morning everyone and welcome to AP English Studies. I'm Miss Doherty and if you're not expecting to see me for this double lesson, I'm afraid to say you've wandered into the wrong room." She gives the class a smile before continuing. "I've given everyone an extra minute or so, I know it's chaos the first few days, but I'd like to start the year by going over a few ground rules. Some of these will apply in the classroom and on campus, others you can take into your own personal lives if you so wish."

"First things first. This year, like the rest, will be a rollercoaster. We will all have our ups and downs and the important thing is that you don't hide those lows. This classroom will always remain a safe place for everyone. If you have an issue, or there is a sensitive topic, know that I am always hear to listen and help provide whatever form of support I can. Second thing, look around you." The students give her a confused look before glancing around the room.

"Everything in this room will be your support system. You can ask your peers for help, the displays are there with the sole purpose to aid you..." The teacher continued delivering the beginning of year information, and Lexa and Clarke listened intently, taking everything on board. She then went onto outlining the course topics and big deadlines, with reassurance that they would focus on that soon.

"Ok guys, here is my idea for how we're going to start this year." She clicked the remote again bringing up a slide entitled 'It is happening. What are you going to do?'  "The apocalypse is before us. It is playing out right in front of our eyes. It begins as a ripple in the sea and slowly builds, it's waves growing. People start to realise what it going on and then the news breaks to the general public leading to mass chaos. It is the end of civilisation as we have ever known it to be and all of a sudden the tsunami hits us all." The students are fully engrossed in the teacher, minds full of possibilities and images of mass destruction and the carnage of society. "But what it is? What is the downfall of our species? How do you think this could all end? Or will it even completely end? That is all the guidance I am going to give you. Look to the person next to you, if you're a table of three look at those on your table. This is your team for your first assignment/presentation. In your class next Friday I want a 10 to 15 minute presentation in whatever form you decide. Take this and run with it, let your imagination run free. In fact, what are some genres you could use?" Several hands rose. "Jackson."

"Could you do a drama?"

"Excellent! Yes, definitely an option." She walks to the whiteboard and begins a spider diagram. "It whatever form that also takes. Whether that's a group performance at the front or if you're interested in film making, we have some equipment you could borrow." She turns back. "Clarke."

"A power point presentation." Clarke suggested.

"Ahh, never under estimate the power of the power point presentation. Awkward transitions and sound effects included." The class laugh as she adds the suggestion. "Lexa."

"Could you do performance poetry?" She hesitantly said.

"Wow! Definitely! That is a big yes. We will do some work on different forms of poetry later, but it doesn't cover apocalyptic haikus from the post modern era or end of the world sonnets in iambic pentameter." The class laughed again. This continued for a while and finally she let them go to discuss and plan the project in their groups with 40 minutes left of the double class.  Lexa turns gives Clarke a smile.

"I guess we're partners. I've never had a teacher like her before, she's really nice."

"Yeah, I had her last year for my performing arts class. She's really nice. And I guess we are partners, as long as that's ok with you?" Clarke gave her a hopeful look. Lexa looked at Clark and took in the girl's appearance, thick dark eye lashes and pale skin, that she thought looked extremely soft. Golden hair outlined the beautiful features of her face and her words made her heart flutter. Suddenly she realised the girl was waiting for her to reply.

"Yeah, that's absolutely fine with me." she slightly stumbled over her words and she looked down to her notes, cheeks flushing.

"Great! So ideas.." Together they spent the remaining time in the class discussing potential ideas for their presentation and ways they could present it to the class, in between getting side tracked and talking about each other's lives.

In fact, they barely planned anything. Conversation flowed like the most natural, steady stream in the world and even though they noticed an odd boulder in their path, they didn't let it stop them. Just made notes in case it appeared again later in conversation. Lexa slowly became more and more comfortable around the girl sitting beside her, suggesting ways they try something different and asking about her interests. She was grateful to gradually stumble over her words less. Not that Clarke ever said anything, her mind was too clouded with forest green eyes, long brunette curls and hoping Lexa didn't notice she was trying to calm the butterflies in her stomach. The bell suddenly rang signalling the end of class and popped the bubble that had formed around them. Clarke watched Lexa pack her things away and didn't like the idea of the butterflies slowly disappearing. She felt the need to prolong their meeting or at least create the opportunity for another.

"So, Lexa," Clarke began, damning the nerves that quickly returned as Lexa looked to her.  "Do you want to get together sometime to go through the project?" Lexa watched Clarke stumble over her words, she took a second to think confusedly as to why she seemed to be nervous. Then the penny dropped and her eyes widened, smile growing on her face. Clarke watched the reaction and her own eyes widened, horrified that Lexa realised what was going on before she could get her own head around it. She tensed and grabbed her book, shoving it into her bag. "Never mind, don't worry." She raised herself out of her seat and felt an hand on her arm.

"Wait! Slow down, it takes me a little longer to process things." Lexa anxiously rambled as she released Clarke's arm. "If the offer still stands, I would like to meet up and go over the project. We didn't really do much today in class. I just can't do tonight because it's the first day and Mom wants to do the whole 'how was your day' interrogation over dinner with us. Which is super annoying and everything but kind of nice at the same time because we didn't get to that before now and you really don't care about my family proble-"

"No! It's nice that you get that chance now." Clarke interrupted the girl and grinned, realising that maybe they were both in the same boat. She nodded her head to the door and together they walked out. "My parents will want to do the same thing. Tomorrow?"

"Yes! Tomorrow is good."

"Cool, what class do you have next?"

"Erm.." Lexa tugged out the timetable from her pocket. At this stage, it was already getting a little worse for wear. "I've got Mr Carter for AP Biology then break."

"Great! So do I."

"Oh thank God." Clarke raised her eyebrow and Lexa's cheeks flushed, before she stutter out "I- It's just that, I have no clue where I'm going. I-"

"Don't worry, I'm messing with you." The blond girl laughed and pointed to the stream of students. "Shall we?"

 

-

 

"Seriously though O! She was really nice. She had some great ideas for our presentation."

"I thought you said you guys didn't get much done?" Raven questioned from the other side of Octavia. It's now their lunch break and they sat together at a table near the back. Clarke was taking the time to update her friends on her morning... Again.

"Well.. We didn't but she had a few good ideas. It's interesting you know, her family moving down here-"

"How her Mom got a permanent position at the base here." Octavia interrupted.

"And she has three siblings that she seems close to." Raven continued, both eyeing Clarke as if to say 'girl, you got it bad already'.

"Wah?"Clarke shrugged, spoon in her mouth.

"Clarke you haven't shut up about this girl since we saw you last period."

"Seriously, you spend three hours with the girl and look at you!" Octavia waved her hand to Clarke. "You're smitten already. She's smitten already Ray!"

"What?!" the girl exclaimed. "I am not! She's just really nice!"

"Mhm, sure Clarke. Whatever you say girl." Raven says.

"Guys come on. She's just arrived here. On your first day you need someone to have a friendly smile and help you find your way around." Clarke reasoned, trying to subtly watch the door looking for the girl in question. It wasn't subtle enough though.

"Just a friendly smile huh?" Octavia wiggles her eyebrows and earns an elbow to the ribs. "Ouch! Fuck, that hurt."

"Your face will hurt next time." Clarke threatened and Raven laughed at the girls misfortune. This only spurred the girl on.

"Who d'ya think you're kidding, she's the Earth and heaven to you," Octavia dramatically sang to Clarke.

"Oh God no."

"Seriously? You got her started on the Disney tunes." Raven groaned and placed her palm on her forehead.

"Try to keep it hidden, honey we can see right through you." Clarke lets out a giggle at Octavia's series of dramatic dance moves whilst still sitting down. "Girl you can't conceal it - come on Clarke! You know you love the tunes!" She turns and pokes her tongue at Raven before continuing. "We you how you feel and who you're thinking of!" Clarke can't help but join in, dance moves included.

"No chance, now way! I won't say it no, no. Come on Ray, you know you love it!" She pointed to Ravens emotionless face.

"Are you for real? It's Junior year and you guys couldn't survive the first day back without breaking out into song?! Disney just adds salt to the wound."

"You swoon, you sigh! Why deny it, uh-oh!" Octavia pretends to faint and lays herself over Raven, earning a huff. But from her place on her lap, she spies a small crack in her facade as she struggles to contain a smile.

"It's too cliché, I won't say I'm in love." Clarke finishes and takes a small bow as Octavia grins and claps before bowing herself. "Seriously though, Lexa is lovely but I've only just met her." She glances to the door again and spies the girl walking in. "Oh guys there she is. I'll go and see if she wants to sit with us." Clarke jumps out of her seat and walks over to Lexa.

"Seriously though, she's completely skipped acquaintance landed head first in smitten." Raven says to Octavia as they watch the girl walk away from the table.

"Yeah. She resembles an excitable puppy. Like a little adorable Labrador puppy that stumbles as they try to run to something too fast or it slips on the tiles and slides into the kitchen cabinet." Octavia adds excitedly.

"Have you been watching animal videos again?" Raven questions as she places her hand over the other girls with a concerned look on her face. "You know we talked about this and we can get you the help you need." She hears the slap of Octavia's hand on hers before she feels the sting. "Ow!"

"Fuck off, how else do you pass 3 months of summer break when you have Bellamy for company unless he's out with his douchey soccer bros - which was most of the time. Clarke disappeared to La La land for a month to visit family and you were binge watching American Horror Story."

"Oo look!"

 

-

 

Lexa had stopped by her locker after class, grabbing her lunch and dumping the few note pads and books she didn't need. When entering the dining hall, she was once again overwhelmed by the size of the room - it was like a TV high school. There were tables dotted all around and what seemed to be a 2 way system for the lunch queue to the left, which looked overly complicated but she guessed with a school this size, maybe it was necessary. After a moment of uncertainty she decided to explore the options available for another day before grabbing a juice and joining a queue.

She felt a tap on her arm and turned to see Clarke standing there with a big smile and spoon in hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ophelias-heart on Tumblr.


	2. Ninja Ballet Dancer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scaring friends and siblings, hip-hop dancing vs ballet & excitable parents, oh my!  
> We meet some of Lexa and Clarke's family and experience different reactions to the girls meeting.

' _Well that went extraordinarily well Clarke, great idea. Brilliant in fact! Let's bring the new girl you may or may not already like, like as in 'like' like, to the table where your best friends are sitting._ ' Clarke stared at the clock in her last class of the day, internally berating herself. _'It's like shoving her off the diving board at the deep end, especially with them two. They really outdid themselves. They were **extremely** welcoming, almost to the point of creepy._ ' She silently groaned as she recalled a blushing Lexa as Octavia made a comment about how pretty she was and how she'd totally be trying to 'defeat all of her other potential suitors to win her love' if she wasn't so straight. _'God she needs to spend less time with Bellamy.._ '

"And that is why students, you never have honey sandwiches for lunch at Yosemite National park." Mr Peacock finished as the bell rang for the end of school. The students immediately stood and shoved their belongings into their bags. "Read chapter one for Monday next week!" he attempted to shout above the chatter but most weren't paying attention and had made their way to the exit.

Clarke filed out into the corridor and made her way to her locker, taking her time to sort her things from her bag. The car park was always at its busiest right after the bell so she saved herself the stress and took her time. Her phone buzzed in her pocket.

 **2:35pm**  
**Octagon**  
@ clubs sign up post xxx

 **2:37pm  
Griffsters**  
Bathroom then on my way. x

Clarke shut her locker and went to the bathroom to relieve herself, before going to find Octavia and Raven. The school had quickly began to empty, with no clubs and little to no homework, the students took the opportunity to flee the scene before the work load began to pile up once more. As she rounded the corner her friends came into view, but they were not alone.. Lexa was the first to notice Clarke appear and met her gaze, offering her a sweet smile that raised Clarke's heart rate once again. Octavia and Raven were too busy bickering over something they had seen on the board, including exaggerated sighs and hand gestures.

Clarke raised her finger to her lips, signalling Lexa to stay quiet. She quietly tip toed forward, trying to make as little noise as possible. About 4 steps away, Raven saw movement out of the corner of her eye and turned to see Clarke who took the opportunity.

"BOO!"

"SHIT!" Octavia jumped and jolted away from the noise, into the board to her side. She whirled around to find her blonde best friend curled over and laughing hysterically, legs crossed. "You bitch, you scared the shit out of me!"

"Paybacks a bitch boo." Raven said, before dissolving into another fit of laughter and causing Octavia to pout. The girl turned and saw even Lexa was quietly giggling to herself, she couldn't help the sliver of smile that appeared on her face. She was glad the girl was enjoying herself. ' _Wait.._ ' Octavia thought to herself. ' _No I'm not._ ' She frowned.

"Come on guys, it's not that funny."

"Yes it is Octavia." Lexa said, her laughter stopping but the smile remained.

"Babe, you should have seen your face.." Raven continued.

"Oh God.." Clarke slowly stopped laughing. "I need to pee."

"Didn't you just go?" Raven asked

"Yes I did, but you know by now that my bladder is tiny and I just tensed everything because I was laughing so hard." She let out another quick laugh, earning an extra glare from Octavia.

"Well before you do that, have you decided on any clubs?" Octavia said.

"I don't know. I'm not fussed about any sports clubs. The drama club could be fun but I think with the workload this year, it could take up too much time. Art club with Petrelli sounds good on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Have you seen anything you like Lexa?" Clarke turned to the girl, and offered her a warm smile.

"Erm.. I was thinking of trying out for the Academic Decathlon team on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Also, erm.." Lexa hesitated. She'd spied a club she wanted to attend but didn't want to attend alone. The club also meant coming out to the girls in front of her and though she had a feeling they would be happy she was open with them, she still felt apprehensive. "The, uh, LGBT society looks good on a Wednesday." The girls look to her, eyes wide and smiles on their faces.

"Yes!" Raven grins, stepping towards the girl and wrapping her up in a big hug. Lexa tensed as she felt the arms around her, but relaxed into the girl and hugged back. "Welcome to the family girl." They separated and Lexa looked to Clarke to see her reaction. The girl in question had a big grin on her face, which seemed to be infectious.

"The LGBT+ society sounds great. I think I will join you." Lexa's smile widened even further. They gazed at each other, the sea and forest captivated by one another. There was an excitement building with the potential between them and the spark of attraction was evident in their quick glances and blushed cheeks when they thought the other wasn't looking during class. The other girls turned to each other, Raven looked like a proud Mamma and Octavia raised her eyebrow. She nodded her head towards the pair before clearing her voice, jerking them out of their trance and turning their cheeks red.

"Seriously? I'm now out numbered 3 to 1." The others laugh at her. "Come on, the car park must be completely empty by now."

Together they walked through the deserted corridors and out the main entrance to the school. There were only a few cars remaining in the student car park, Clarke's being one located near the back.

"I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow then." Lexa said, stopping at the end of the pathway and the girls turned to her.

"Do you want a ride home? I don't mind and there's space." Clarke asked.

"No, I wouldn't want to intrude. I'm not that far away."

"I live like, 5 streets away and she still drops me home." Raven said. " And O could get a lift with Bell but-"

"But his car stinks of 'dude' and needed to be cleaned like a year ago.. It's a biological hazard I swear-"

"Anyways. Don't feel like you have to, but you are more than welcome." Clarke said reassuringly, she thinks back to time she had spent during the day with the girl and the signs of anxiety she had shown. She didn't want the girl to feel pressured into getting into her car if she wasn't comfortable. Especially considering she'd be trapped in a confined space with the lunatics she calls her best friends. Lexa looked to Clarke and glanced at her friends faces, arms wrapped tightly around a few books.

"If you don't mind I think I'll pass.. Thank you though for the offer. I'll see you tomorrow." Clarke nodded and gave her one last smile.

"No worries, any time. I guess we'll see you in class?"

"Yeah, I'll text you? Here.." Lexa takes out her phone and hands it to Clarke who puts in her number. "We can see if we have any other classes together."

"Great," Clarke said whilst handing back the phone."I guess I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah, I'll text you later on." Lexa sends Raven and Octavia a wave. "It was nice meeting you." She then turned and walked to the gate and out of sight. Clarke watched her for a few seconds before spinning to her friends.

"Great, you guys probably scared her." she whispered,

"We scared her? You were practically a homing beacon of joy or drooling all over yourself in every moment of her presence and we scared her?" Raven ranted, eyebrows raised and finger waving between the three girls. Clarke huffed.

"You loons can entertain each other in the back." Clarke said, sticking her tongue out childishly at them both.

"Hey!" Octavia shouts.

"Who you callin' a loon?" Raven turns to Clarke who dodges a smack from the brunette and quickly runs to her car laughing all the way.

 

-

 

Lexa had arrived home after her 15 minute walk from the school and sighed with relief as she closed the door behind her. First day done and it wasn't so bad. She thought back to the events of the day, mostly dominated by Clarke, and shook her head. After leaving her shoes in the cupboard, she walked straight through to the kitchen and dumped her stuff on the counter, before walking out to the main hallway and calling out for her younger sister.

"Tris!" She paused, listening carefully. She heard a movement upstairs but she didn't get a reply. Lexa walked up the stairs and down the hallway to her sister's bedroom. She could hear her in there, the shuffle of feet seemingly in rhythm was a sign she was probably dancing again. She knocked on the door and called out for her once more but she girl obviously had her earphones in. Lexa rolled her eyes and opened the door, allowing it to fully swing open. She leaned against the door frame and watched her sister with a grin as she was practising some form of hip hop dance routine for her class facing the mirrored wall to Lexa's left. The girl moved her armed and legs with sharp precision, rolled her body and swung her hips in time to her music playing through the earphones. As she spun around, Lexa's figure caught her attention and she physically jolted out of her rhythm and stopped.

"Jesus, I keep telling Dad you're a ninja. He never believes me."

"Unlike your dancing, I don't require stomping to move around."

"Oh ha ha, miss ninja ballet dancer who moves around on her tippy toes with no sound at all."

"I stopped ballet like 3 years ago Tris." Lexa scoffed.

"Yeah but you still move like you are one. You look like you have a metal pole attached to your back, I don't think you ever slouch." Tris said sarcastically

"What is this, pick on Lexa day?"

"Yes, it is pick on Lexa day every day." Tris stuck her tongue out and turned to set her iPod on her dresser before she grabbed a hair tie and started to pull her hair into a pony tail.

"Here," Lexa said and moved to take the tie from her hand and the brush sitting in front of her. She guided the younger girl to sit in front of her white wooden dressing table and began to gently brush through the curls. The girls hair was long like Lexa's and naturally curled but was a little more tame and easier to control. "How was your first day at school?"

"It was good. My homeroom teacher was nice and the students seem nice enough. I had a teacher for art called Mr Crowley and he droned on for the whole hour but I refuse to let him ruin one of the few classes I actually really like. Also the gym teacher is kind of hot. But I won't have him. There were a few girls who mentioned the cheer quad. I might try out." She paused from her little ramble and looked to Lexa in the mirror who gave her a soft smile.

"You'd be great T, you should definitely try out." Tris grinned back at her sisters approval and continued to talk about her day as Lexa finished brushing her hair and began to braid small pieces before pulling it all up into an elegant bun.

"How was your first day Lex?" Tris turned around in her chair.

"It was good. A little overwhelming at first. I don't know about the middle school, but the high school is huge and there are so many students. It was ok though. I made a new friend and her friends seem..." Lexa paused and contemplated the best word to fit her overall experience with Octavia and Raven. "Nice." This caused Tris to raise her eyebrow.

"Nice?" She questioned and Lexa scrunched her face slightly trying to figure out her first impressions.

"Umm. Yes?" Lexa said, tilting her head slightly, evidently still undecided. "I don't know. They were nice but they were... A lot. They have big personalities and are quite loud and boisterous." Her mind then flickered back to the end of the day, the four of them standing beside the school board and their reaction to her coming out. It was so warm and open, made her feel at ease. It also felt good to know that she could have support, they could help one another knowing they identified as LGBT in some way. And then there was Clarke.. A smile grew on her face and a little bit of suspicion crept into Tris' mind. "They have their hearts in the right place though, I came out to them and they were nothing but kind and welcoming. Like literally welcoming me into their family. I don't know who identifies as what but it's clear as least Raven is queer. Octavia seems to be the only straight one and that leaves Clarke. Clarke is lovely though."

"Mhm.. Clarke is lovely huh?" Tris raised an eyebrow and Lexa's eyes widened a little at being caught so easily.

"Clarke is my new friend. We have a few classes together." Lexa tried to cover.

"Mhm.. She's your ' _new friend'_?" Tris used her fingers to emphasise her words with a grin on her face which caused Lexa to let out a large sigh.

"Come on Tris! It's the first day."

"If Clarke is 'lovely' already imagine how you'll feel by Friday!" Tris exclaimed and giggled at the obvious discomfort on her older siblings face, relishing the opportunity to torture her. She wiggled her eyebrows at Lexa who playfully glared and spun around to leave the girl's room. Tris was too quick though. The girl leapt up from the chair and placed her hands on the girls shoulders before jumping onto her back. Lexa immediately grabbed the girls thighs to prevent her from falling and tugged her higher into a more comfortable position. Tris wrapped her arms around Lexa's shoulders and hugged her. "Love you Lex."

"I'm sure you do ankle bitter." This earned a poke in the ribs and Lexa yelped then grumbled. "Love you too T."

The girls played about for another little while before taking up residence at the table in the kitchen to do the small amount of homework that had been assigned that day. They continued to chat about their days whilst working, and an hour later they decided to start catching up on the couple episodes of Poldark they had missed during the move. They had just started watching their second episode, the season finale, when they heard a car pull into the drive way and into the garage.

"5:45 on the dot. Man, even as CEO he's bang on time." Tris said and Lexa laughs, pressing the pause button on the remote. They heard their father walk in through the garage door and dump his things beside theirs on the kitchen table. He then wandered down the hall and into the family room to find Tris and Lexa sitting together on the large black 'U' shaped sofa in front of a flat screen TV hanging above the fire place. The room was light and open, with high ceilings, large windows that made up most of the exterior wall and a balcony on the first floor landing that looks down on them.

"Hi girls." Gustus said, pulling at his tie to loosen it and undo his top button before plonking himself in between his daughters.

"Hey Dad." Tris cuddled into his side and pulling his arm around her.

"Hey, how was your day?" Lexa asked while shuffling closer and he wrapped his other arm around her, pulling his girls closer.

"It was good thanks. A little more settled this week, which is good. Sharing the position as CEO was a good idea. Two brains to work through things and make decisions rather than one and also the work load is a bit easier, even with the expansion. Means I can be home before 6:00 some nights, like tonight." He said, was a smile.

"The CEO has a family too. You should always be home by then for family time." Tris stated, looking up at him.

"Well, as a CEO you have a big work load. It's lucky that when Kenneth left they were already beginning the expansion, so he proposed that having a second CEO would benefit the company in the long run. Victoria is great, very focused and work orientated. Means I can leave on time!" He lets them go and stands up before moving a glass and perching himself on the coffee table. "Anyways, how was your first days at school? Please do not spare any boring details. In fact, tell me in the kitchen while I make dinner." He said excitedly and the girls laughed.

They made their way through to the kitchen and the girls explained their days, in detail, to him from where they were perched at the rounded breakfast bar - Lexa a little more selective about the details she shared which didn't go unnoticed by Tris. Gustus listened, excited that the girls first days had been quite positive, and went about preparing dinner. He moved skilfully around the kitchen, chopping vegetables and preparing the meat he'd left marinating in the fridge. He was in the middle of chopping a pepper when Tris brought up Clarke.

"So Lexa made a new friend." She started, earning a glare from Lexa.

"T." She warned. Gustus looked between the two girls.

"Her name is Clarke-"

"Tris." Lexa warned again. A curious grin appeared on Gustus' face. He knows Tris is messing with Lexa, but wants in on the harmless fun too.

"Who's Clarke?" He asked casually, adding the vegetables to the saucepan with the meat and stirring.

"Just a friend that I made today."

"Oh that's great love. What's she like?" He said, a grin grew on his face and puts the knife down, eager to give her his full attention.

"Dad you're acting like I'm dating her." Lexa said rolling her eyes, her defensiveness causing him to raise an eyebrow - something that seemed to run in the family.

"I'm just showing some interest in your social life, it's great that you've made a friend." He explained, winking at Tris when Lexa looks away. "So come on what is she like?"

"She's really friendly. I met her in my AP English Studies class. I sat next to her and we were paired for our first project. " Lexa states, expecting her explanation to be enough but Gustus indicates for her to continue. "Well.. She's nice and her friends were very welcoming and open when I came out to them."

"Well that's definitely a good place to start. Being open and honest with them from the beginning is great Lex, I'm proud." Gustus said and Lexa smiles at him. "Continue." She lets out a dramatic sigh.

"She's blonde, has blue eyes. She's about the same height as me. She's also in my AP Biology class so it'll be good to see a friend around. I also have her friend Raven in my Math and Geometry classes. I don't know. She was..." She thought back to the deep blue eyes that captivated her in that English classroom and how she felt butterflies in her stomach being in her presence during lunch, even with Octavia and Raven being their loud selves. To Tris and Gustus it was obvious that the smile growing on her face was not caused by them. She cleared her thought and looked down at her hands, fiddling with a ring on her thumb. "I... err... I think she might be gay or bi, from what Raven and Octavia said. It's nice knowing there are others that have gone or are going through the same thing as me."

"And that support is invaluable. You cannot put a price on it." Gustus said. Lexa slid off her chair and walked to the archways that divides the kitchen from the hallway and turns.

"She's also coming round tomorrow." She turned and sprinted from the room, leaving the two in shock.

"What!?" Tris screeched and jumped out of her chair before chasing after her. Gustus just watched his daughters with a grin, grateful for the day he and his wife first met the girls in the hallway of the adoption centre. They instantly knew their family had grown once more.

 

-

 

The small Griffin family sat comfortably in their living room, dinner plates cleared away to be dealt with later and everyone relaxed in their seats. The Abigail and Jake sat together on the love seat, both with full glasses of wine in hand as she leaned into his side with his arm around her. Clarke sits in the arm chair with a smaller glass in hand, half filled with the same wine. Jake had a passion for wine that came from his French heritage and it did not take long to persuade Abigail to allow their daughter a little, as long as she was in their presence.

Clarke contently watched her parents, who had briefly gotten side tracked on the forgotten name of some person they had met at a fundraiser the hospital had organised. Both 48 years old and 27 years into their marriage, still completely devoted to each other and in love. She wanted that. It was clear from every perspective that even 27 years later and the relationship they had shared, they were still completely in love. In the past year more so than ever, they acted like 2 young excitable lovers exploring their relationship for the first time. In reality, they were rediscovering their passion for each other, their family and life.

' _How could someone not want that_ ,' she thought. ' _Still completely in love. Yes Mom has had to work a lot of hours and it was tough with her having to be away from home a lot but they made it work... We made it work."_ Jake's level of training and expertise allowed him to tailor his work to his family needs, taking work independently as an engineer - something Raven loved and would pick his brains at any opportunity.

"Clarke." The girl was jolted out of her reverie to find her parents now watching her.

"Huh?" She said.

"You see that? That is exactly the same face you pull." Abigail said, poking her husband's leg before mimicking her daughter. "' **Huh?** ' That is exactly what you do!"

"No I don't." Jake replies while feigning offence and Abby grins.

"I don't sound like that Mom." Clarke spoke up, attempting to defend herself.

"Are you sure? You're both pulling the same face, right now too." Jake and Clarke look to each other before glaring at the older woman.

"I don't know what you are talking about," Jake said and removes his arm from around his wife. "I am going to sit with my favourite daughter." He stands and moves to slide into the side of the large armchair, Clarke moves slightly to allow him more room but they are a little squished.

"I'm your only daughter." Clarke said, raising her eyebrows at her father.

"You had better be..." Abigail said menacingly from the couch, allowing the warmth she feels as she watches the two most important people in her life sit together spread through her. ' _God she looks so much like him_ ' she thinks to herself.

"Anyways, how was your first day of school?" Jake asked. Clarke raised herself up before turning and draping her legs over his lap and the arm of the chair.

"It was good. Classes are good, I have a few with Raven and Octavia. I met a new girl, she's just moved down from Montana with her family and she seems lovely." Clarke said, trying to ignore the memories of soft brown curls and green eyes with stuttered words tumbling from red lips. She forcefully shuts down her stream of thought and tries to stop the blush that starts form to no avail. "We actually have a project together for English. I think we might get together tomorrow to go through a few things. I'm not sure if we'll come here or go to hers."

"Sure, no problem." Jake replies.

"What's the girls name?" Abby asks.

"Lexa Green."

"Green.." Abby paused for a second. "No relation of Gustus Green by any chance?"

"Erm.. I don't know. She never mentioned anyone called that." Clarke said, thinking through their conversations. "Why?"

"The board had a meeting with the legal firm's new CEOs, just a general meeting with introductions and discussions on the development of the firm. Informing us of small changes to the system but basically reassured us that we wouldn't be affected by it."

"Maybe they are related. She mentioned her Mom moving down for a semi permanent placement at Fort Carson so the family followed her. She said her Dad works in legal though so maybe that's him." Clarke focused on the half full glass in her hand, swirling the red liquid before taking a sip.

"So she's nice?"

"Yeah, she was nice. She came out to us after school too. She seemed relieved to have done it, especially after Raven went all mama bear and said 'welcome to the family'" Clarke smiled and her parents laughed.

"She sounds great. And Raven is very sweet." Jake paused and thought about his words, before adding, "Loud, talkative and very confident, but also sweet."

"She's practically your second daughter, Dad." Clarke giggles.

"So when Clarke said she was your only daughter earlier...?" Abigail questions whilst raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, sorry honey but I forgot to tell you that we kinda, sort of adopted 2 other daughters by the names of Octavia and Raven." Jake shrugged nonchalantly. "Don't worry, it's only on a part time basis. You'll love them."

"Oh I know already! Half the time I come home and their either camped on the sofa snoring like fog horns or they are raiding our fridge." Abigail ranted with a smile on her face, before she winked at him while continuing. "Little late on the update sweetheart."

The pair continued to playfully bicker, with Clarke throwing in a comment to spur them on every now and then. Together they enjoyed the rare weekday evening spent as a family, laughing and chatting till tiredness over took them and they decided to call it a night - the dishes left forgotten for the next morning.

Clarke laid in bed thinking about how her day felt different, almost like the beginning of something new. There was a sense of excitement, like she was standing at the precipice of something new. She hadn't had this type of feeling before, the subtle mixture of the excitement and anticipation. She was aware of the little flicker of uncertainty in the background of her mind but she ignored it, choosing to banish it to the corner of consciousness.

Slowly, the young woman fell asleep. A figure danced through her dreams with beauty and grace, brunette curls falling upon it's shoulders adorned in an elegantly flowing green gown. By the time the morning came, the figure faded into the furthest reaches of her mind, too far for her consciousness to remember.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ophelias-heart on Tumblr.


	3. Let Them Look

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Did someone ask for more fluff? Raven and Clarke act like children, Lexa has a moment with Octavia and Clarke meets Tris.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, Lexa relives part of Ready. Aim. Fire. I have adjusted it slightly to focus more on Lexa but feel free to read the full thing. It was very fun to write.

 

Clarke made her way to her locker, pulling out her gym bag and replacing it with her books as they had lunch after the class. She grabbed her phone from her bag and checked it to see she had a text from her mother.

 **11:22am**  
**Momma G**  
Dad's going to be late, had a call out in  
Springs. Have a surgery till 6.30 but if goes  
to plan, will be home by 8.00 latest. There's  
money in the jar if you haven't eaten by the  
time you get back. Love you, Mom x

 **11:31am**  
**Clarke**  
Thanks Ma. Will see what Lexa wants to do.  
                   Good luck with your surgery. Love C x        

Clarke slid her phone in to the side pocket of her gym bag. She looked up to see Lexa making her way down the corridor to her own locker. She closed hers and turned to see the girl had noticed her there and Clarke smiled, sending her a wave. Lexa returned it and made her way to the blonde, weaving her way around a few students.

"Hey."

"Hey, how was your class?" Lexa asked, leading the girl to her locker and quickly switching her things.

"Not too bad, it was just math. Nothing mind blowing. What about you?" Clarke asked, noticing how beautiful the girls hair was. Her curly brown hair full, partially tamed and flowing over her shoulders. She was wearing a cream top under an oversized cardigan with navy and cream stripes. Navy skinny jeans accentuated how toned and long her legs were, emphasised once more by tan heels ankle boots that added a few inches to her height. The girl looked gorgeous. Clarke noticed she had completely zoned out and quickly looked away from the girl, desperately trying to stop her cheeks flushing and taking great interest in a random display.

"Clarke." Lexa waved her hand in front of the girl a few seconds later. Clarke jerked her head round to look at the girl, trying to forget her slip up. Lexa had already closed her locker, ready for their next class and was trying to contain a grin.

She had glanced at Clarke when she was switching some books around and noticed she had lost the girl, blue eyes wandering down her body. When this had happened before with teenage boys eyes roaming her body, Lexa had felt very self conscious and chose to quickly remove herself from the situation. Now though, Lexa felt a sense of pride. She felt confident in her appearance, that Clarke wasn't staring at her for her own pleasure. She saw a similarity between Clarke's look and her own that morning. She'd been in awe of Clarke and her beauty. To have Clarke looking at her in a similar way made Lexa's heart swell. ' _Maybe..._ ' she thought.

"Sorry." Clarke said, noticing the girls grin and her cheeks grew redder. "I.. err.."

"Come on, we're going to be late for gym." Lexa said, nodding her head down the corridor and taking a step in that direction.

"Wait, Lexa, wrong way." The girl swiftly turned and pointed in the other direction.

"Lead the way." She said dramatically, causing Clarke giggled and shake her head. She hooked her arm through Lexa's and guided the girl through the school to the girls locker room. Realising they had taken a little longer than they thought, they quickly changed into their gym kit, both turning away from each other to avoid the temptation to look. They made it onto the field, moving to stand with Octavia and Raven, just before Coach Leon blew her whistle at the girls.

The Coach lead them through a warm up, sending them for a jog around the field and through a mixture of stretches.  She then introduced their focus on general fitness for the next few weeks, a chorus of groans in response made the woman grin, before saying that they would rotate through different sports after. She split them into groups and sent them to activities set up around the area involving different layouts of cones, ladders and relay batons.  

During the class, Lexa noticed that a few students kept looking at her. She'd turn and they would quickly look away, some whispering to friends. At one point, Lexa had turned to say something to Clarke and a girl in a different group was pointing at her. The girl then shot her hand to the floor wide eyed, realising she'd been caught and swiftly turned to avoid eye contact. Lexa frowned at the girls actions, completely confused as to why they were all acting strange. She ignored it as much as possible, letting it go and focusing on the tasks set out.

The class passed fairly quickly. The girls were sent off with 10 minutes left of the class to change before lunch began. Clarke and Lexa met up with Raven and Octavia and found a clear table to claim for the slot, quickly taking out their food to start demolishing.

"So I was talking with Harper in Geography and apparently there's a lot of people on the list for team tryouts. She said that it could be an idea to split the groups to start. Both of us lead groups, each pick the best in our groups and then hold a final tryout next Tuesday." Octavia explained, being the soccer team's second in charge. Harper was a senior and due to leave at the end of the year, handing over her captaincy to Octavia - something she was very excited for.

"Sounds great O, you always get a good turn out." Raven praised.

"Is anyone else going for a sports team?" Clarke asked, looking between the other three.

"Nope, just soccer. Don't have time for anything else." Octavia said.

"Not for me, between the LGBT society and the Academic Decathlon team, I don't want to burn myself out." Raven chatted, opening her sandwich and putting a few chips inside before taking a huge bite.

"You're in the Decathlon team?" Lexa asked, looking up from her pot of pasta and salad.

"Yep, I do all the science side of things. We have a few places left from last year, you should come to the meeting this Thursday if you want to join. Ms Johnson runs it, she'll have a look into your school record and get back to everyone next week." Raven smiled. "I'm sure you'll make the team."

"Thanks." Lexa replied with a small smile. "I think I'll join you in the LGBT society as well, if that's ok."

"Of course it is! You'll have lots of fun, we're a friendly bunch."

"Yeah we're friendly, very friendly in fact. Actually, some might say too friendly." Clarke giggled. Lexa picked up on her use of 'we' and giggled with her. She stabbed her fork into her salad and was about to bring it to her mouth went she felt the odd sensation of being watched. She frowned, looked up past Raven, who sat opposite her on the table, and saw a group of girls all wide eyed at being caught, quickly averting their eyes and leaning into the table to whisper at each other. Lexa sighed, not going unnoticed by the other on the table.

"What's up with you toots?" Octavia poked her arm with the handle of her fork, Lexa looked to her and then back to the girls.

Every so often one would glance up at her, the attention was beginning to make the girl feel a little anxious. _'Why the hell do people keep looking at me?_ '. She left her fork back down, feeling less hungry, and leant back in her chair, fingers pulling at a button on her cardigan.

"I don't know. I just... I feel like this is stupid but I think people keep staring at me." Lexa looked between the girls unchanged faces.

"It's not stupid," Clarke started.

"Because they are looking at you." Raven continued, nonchalantly. Clarke glared at the girl and slapped her shoulder. "Ow! What?! I'm telling the truth."

"Yeah but a little more tact would be nice Ray."

"They are looking at you Lex," Octavia turned to the girl as the other two continued to bicker. She watched Lexa's concern grew at the knowledge, causing the furrow on her brow to grow. The younger Blake sibling knew what it was like to have people whisper about you. Something about you circulates around the student body and you become the centre of attention for while. She found it so irritating because the moments people decide to talk about you, are often the times you least want it to be. When it came to the death of her mother at the end of their freshman year, however difficult and arduous their relationship was, she didn't need that extra layer of suffocation. She gave the girl a small smile. "It'll pass though, it's just the excitement of you putting Collins shitty ass in its place this morning, that's riled them up." she reassured Lexa. Though she still seemed a little tense, her frown lightened and her shoulders lowered.

"So that's what this is about?" She questioned, getting soft nod from the brunette in response. Lexa didn't realise how quickly that would get around. Her mind flickered back to her second lesson that day, reliving the conversation she had with the boy.

 

_"See, now I understand the whole vibe you've got going on." He waved his hand at her and continued "You're one of those feminist dykes that gets a hard on out of sticking it to the man. Your adopted ass thinks the world owes you, so you get your tits out and wave your used tampons around to protest women's supposed oppression when really you're a disgusting freak." He let out another sick laugh, looking to the others. Lexa's sole focus was on the guy in front. She remembers her mother's attempt at teaching her to 'kill them with kindness'. She supposed she could at least try._

_No one had expected the laugh to tumble from her lips, the smile that graced her face in the presence of such idiocy. She shifted to make herself more comfortable in her seat, crossed her right leg over her left and leant back in her chair. She emanated calmness physically, but her mind had already won this battle. Her hand had already slapped the tiny gun from his grasp and pointed her shot gun to his head._

_Ready. Aim. Fire._

_"I don't think I quite caught your name." She waited till he was about to respond, his mouthing opening, then painfully cut him off. "I don't give a shit about your name. You are partially right with your, how should I put it... Erm, misogynistic, homophobic, oppressive and offensive rant complete with slurs and foul, defaming images. I believe these are some of the terms my father would use in this type of case in court." Lexa began, her face now turning emotionless. She observed Finn, how he seemed unaffected by her words but little did he know she had only just begun._

_"Psh-" He began._

_"Do not interrupt me." Lexa commanded. "Let's start with the two things you got right. First, yes I am adopted. I was adopted along with the rest of my siblings. My biological sister and I were adopted 10 years ago by amazing people who chose us and love us and my 2 older siblings were adopted just 2 years before us. Finally, your second and final correct point, yes I am a feminist. The definition of a feminist is someone who believes in political, social and economic equality for men and women - someone who believes in equal rights." Her tone began to gradually change. She slowly allowed her emotions to power her words, emphasising her power in the situation and the intelligence she had to wipe the floor with his filthy ass._

_"I believe in this because I will work my ass off to complete my high school education, get my degree and make it through law school. I will do that so that I can spend my day hauling people like you behind bars. I don't know if you even noticed but solely through that little escapade of yours, you could be arrested and successfully charged on grounds of assault, with the jury will not take kindly to your homophobic bullshit and sexist harassment." The conviction in her words made them more piercing and harsh, whilst also growing in volume. Unbeknownst to Lexa, her audience grew._

_"With your ridiculously ignorant choice of words and honestly pathetic depiction of what could be your personal fantasy, you could also be sued for defamation. You using that much bollocks for ammunition is like you putting the gun to your own head." Lexa stood up tall before placing her hands on the table in front of her, allowing her presence to reign over him. She didn't bother to acknowledge the change in his demeanour, eyes widened in shock and mouth slightly a gap with his words long lost._

_"I don't know what the fuck has happened before now. However, your previous comments to Clarke and her discomfort  in the situation that you created with complete disregard for her clearly distressed tone and nature, are grounds for sexual harassment. Boy I am telling you right now," She leans further forward menacingly, her face now furiously glowering down upon him._

_"If I get word that anything you did that night was unwanted or not consented to, or if there was any uncertainty that both parties were completely able to recognise the situation and agree to whatever you both decided to do together, I will throw your white privileged ass off your high horse and haul it down to the local precinct myself. I will call in Ms Callie Cartwig, who has the highest success rate in prosecuting these types in cases in this state, and is also a personal friend, to tear you down in front of the judge. That is a promise." She concluded her speech and sat back down, maintaining her glare directed at him._

Lexa shook her head from her thoughts, reliving the scene made her realise how that could gather the attention of the study body quickly. However, she also felt proud of standing up for what she believed in, standing up to protect Clarke from the guy who evidently needed taking down several notches. She also thought that had her Dad seen her in that moment, he'd have been really proud of what he saw - the way she held herself in the situation and how articulate and confident she was with her speech, whilst absolutely tearing him down. She imagined that's what he looked like in court, minus the foul language. Her mother would just be proud she used her words and not her fists.

Lexa smiled at the memory and looked to Clarke and Raven, still bickering between bites, then back to Octavia.

"Let them look." She said confidently. Octavia frowned at the quick change in Lexa but smiled at her progress.

"Alright! High five!" Lexa slapped the girls hand, snapping the other girls out of their mini feud. They turned to look at the girls now laughing with each other, looking very confused by their interaction. Raven glanced at Clarke, whose attention was now captured by Lexa, and grabbed the spoon from her box. She quickly aimed the cutlery, pulled it back with a finger and let go, flinging the food at her. Clarke flinched as she felt something hit her face and turned to see Raven's wide grin, her spoon in hand. She glared at her and took a hand full of rice.

"You little shit."

 

-

 

Clarke left her AP Anatomy and Physiology class, Octavia's arm linked with hers. They chatted about the blonde's 'study session' around Lexa's house, Octavia smiling at the excitement that was evident in Clarke's voice but would completely deny if she pointed it out. They weaved their way through the crowded corridor, making their way to the junior lockers. As they approached, Clarke saw Lexa already at her own and her excitement climbed higher. She forced herself to focus on the oncoming traffic that was the student body and not admiring the girl from a distance. Once they finally got close the girl, Clarke tapped the brunettes shoulder. Lexa turned and smiled at the two girls.

"Hey, how's it going?" She asked.

"All is good thanks." Clarke practically beamed as she opened her locker and Octavia clamped her lips together before answering to stop herself from laughing at the girl.

"We're good, you know just excited for the school day to be over." Octavia mimicked the girls excitement and Clarke glared at her.

"Good." Lexa responded, not watching them but finishing organising her locker before shutting it. "I'm ready whenever you are Clarke."

"Ok." She said, quickly grabbing the last book and folder before slamming the door shut. "Ready."

"Well bitches, enjoy your evening." Octavia grabbed her gym bag from the floor and looked to the girls now standing together. She moved to give Lexa a hug, who responded in kind and gave her a smile as they separated. She then moved to kiss Clarke's cheek and wrap her arms around the girl, whispering into her ear "Be safe, do you need a condom?" Clarke slapped the girls shoulder and pulled away, cheeks flushing bright red. Octavia laughed at the girls and blew them both a kiss before calling out behind her "Have fun!" and walking to meet Bellamy.

"That girl..." Clarke started, shaking her head.

"She's quite the friend Clarke." Lexa says and Clarke's heart sped up, realising they were alone for the rest of the evening. Or maybe. She wasn't sure what the plan was for their time at the girl's house. They turned and walked down the corridor and out of the school's entrance to the car park. Clarke guided them to her Mercedes GLC that sat near the rear of the car park and they climbed in, depositing their bags in the backseat. Clarke checked her phoned quickly to see a message from Raven, noticing the girl had changed her name in her phone book.

 **2:34pm  
Ravenator (aka BFF #1 ;)**  
Have fun tonight! Don't do anything  
I wouldn't do! ;p  xxxxx

Clarke chose to ignore the message and dropped her phone into the compartment in the centre console, put on her belt and started the engine. Before pulling out of the space, she looked to Lexa. She looked comfortable enough in her seat, didn't seem anxious like she was this time the previous day, and Clarke felt happy that she was able to be like that in her presence.

"You'll have to guide me back to yours." Clarke prompted the girl, looking around the car park before pulling out of her space.

"Yes, of course. Do you know where Marlborough Avenue is?" She asked, watching the girl drive to the exit of the car park.

"Yeah, over by Jefferson Park." Lexa's phone dinged and she pulled it from her pocket, seeing a message from Tris.

"Mhm, I live near the end of that road." She explained, whilst responding to the message.

"You aren't that far from me then." Clarke smiled before continuing. "I live on Arlington Drive, like 3 roads away."

"I think we've driven past there a couple of times. It's a nice area, everyone seems friendly." Lexa said, leaving her phone on her lap and watching the outside world go by.

"Yeah, it's pretty nice. When did you move down from Montana?" Clarke stopped at a set of lights and looked to the girl.

"Beginning of July. Mom's post at Fort Carson started around the third week of July so we took the road trip down then."

They continued their conversation for the next few minutes till Clarke turned onto Lexa's road. The brunette guided them to a driveway with its gates opened, telling her to park wherever she wanted. Clarke drove forward, glancing up at the large house and pulled up on the left by some flower beds, leaving the good size garage on the other side clear. Lexa hopped out of the car and grabbed their bags, guiding Clarke up and into the house. Upon entering Clarke noticed the size of the entrance, a curved staircase led up to the open first floor, further ahead of her was an archway and through it the kitchen could be seen. There was a closed door to her left and her right offered another archway, this time it looked like it led to the sitting room. She followed Lexa's lead, removing her boots and leaving them beside the brunettes before following the girl through to the kitchen area.

"Would you like a drink or anything?" Lexa asks, opening the fridge. Clarke glanced around the room, taking in the large island and breakfast bar and the family portrait of the wall to her right. "We've got water, OJ, Coke, Lemonade... I'm sure there cordial in the cupboard too." She thought allowed.

"Water would be great thanks." Clarke said and took the bottle Lexa handed to her. "The photo is beautiful." Lexa follows the girls gaze and wrinkles her nose at the photo.

"I suppose. I was like 10 when they took that."

"It's cute." Clarke giggled at the girls face. "Are they your parents?"

"Yeah," Lexa pointed to the people in the photo. "That's Anya standing beside my Mom Indra. My Dad, Gustus, is sitting next to her and standing beside him is my brother Lincoln. Sitting on the floor beside me is my sister Tris."

"Who is the best sister in the world." a voice announces from beside them, they both jump and turn to see the youngest member of the family.

"Jesus Tris, you scared the shit out of us," Lexa places her heart on her chest and Clarke laughs beside her.

"Thank you kind Lexa, but nay I am not our lord and saviour however mighty I may seem." Tris says dramatically, hands clasped at her chest

"Ha ha, ankle biter. You think I'm the ninja? Did they give you a lesson on how not to stamp in your last dance class?" Lexa sassed at the girl, eyebrow raised.

"Oh very funny dear sister. Are you going to introduce me to your friend?" Tris smiled, looking between the two. Lexa glared at her before clearing her voice and turning to Clarke.

"Clarke, this is my little sister Tris. Tris, this is Clarke."

"It's nice to meet you." Clarke sent the girl a warm smile.

"It's nice to meet you too, I've have heard so much about you." Tris grinned as Lexa's cheeks flared and her glare intensified.

"Tris, don't you have homework or something?" Pointedly looking from the girl to the door.

"Not really, no." The girl lied, shaking her head with a pleased smile.

"Go."

 


	4. That Was Perfect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ok, someone definitely ordered extra fluff this time? Conversations are had, talks of aspirations and wonder, and they share their first kiss. Which was a little unexpected...

 

Lexa was grateful to escape further torment from her sister. She watched Tris leave towards the living room, then took Clarke back out of the room and up the staircase to her bedroom. Clarke admired the house as she walked through, the framed photos that lined the wall by the staircase and hallway upstairs, the soft cream carpets under her feet and view from the first floor, looking down over the entrance to the house. Lexa guided her across the landing and down the hallway to her bedroom. She told the blonde to make herself comfortable wherever she wanted as she placed her phone on the desk top and dropped her bag to the floor beside it.

Lexa turned to see Clarke setting her bag down on the floor and perching herself on the edge of her large king size bed. The blonde looked around the violet room, spying a collage of photos on the wall opposite her bed, above a large black desk. A bookcase sat beside it, filled with a mixture of different DVDs, CDs and books. She set her bottle of water on the black bedside table as Lexa walked over and joined her, climbing to sit cross legged beside her.

"So 'the apocalypse is upon us', what a way to say welcome to Junior year huh?" Clarke imitated Miss Doherty jokingly.

"Yeah she's a funny teacher, seems very passionate about her subject." the brunette admired as Clarke turned to join Lexa fully on the bed, crossing her legs to mimic the girl.

"She is lovely. Octavia went through a rough patch in her freshman year and Doherty was her assigned mentor. She really helped her and got her back into the swing of things at school. She's always told us that her room is a sanctuary, zero tolerance on any form of bullying, no question was silly." Clarke explained. It made Lexa feel a little curious as to why Octavia went through a rough patch but didn't ask her.

"She was good today too. Put Finn in his place when she got back from whatever she was doing with Mr Kane." Lexa smiled with approval at the memory.

"No, you put him back in his place Lexa." Clarke stated, looking at her with admiration. Lexa loved the way her name sounded coming room the girls lips and her heart increased under her warm gaze.

"It was funny to see the shock on his face." Lexa let out a laugh and Clarke's smile widened at the sound. "I don't think he expected that at all."

"No. To be honest neither did I." Clarke admitted. She glanced to the window before continuing. "I have to thank you Lexa, for what you said."

"That's ok." Lexa shrugged. "I meant everything I said. He needed to realise how horrible he was being. Has he done that before?" Clarke frowned and looked down at her hands.

"He's said some stuff once or twice, that was the first time in school. The night that he mentioned..." She took a deep breath to steady herself before continuing. "That night I don't really remember much about. It's strange. It was like any other party at the beginning of summer. I got dressed with Octavia and Raven, nothing fancy, and went to a party Miller was throwing. I had a couple of drinks, I knew I had family coming round the next day so I didn't want to go overboard, but they didn't have to worry about that so they drank on. I remember leaving the girls and getting my third drink, I barely felt the ones I had before and figured the third could be my last. That's where it all goes blank."

Lexa's concern grew towards the end of her speech. She reached out and laid her hand on Clarke's. They both watched as Clarke turned the hand to entwine their fingers, taking comfort in the warmth Lexa's hand provided. Lexa gently ran her thumb over the back, sending goose bumps up Clarke's arm. The blonde shook her head, trying to remove the negative thoughts that clouded her mind and allow herself to focus on Lexa, she gently tightened her grip on the girls hand and looked up.

"Anyways, I'm grateful that you stood up to him." She smiled at the memory of Lexa powerfully leaning over the table and Finn practically curling away from her in fear. "He deserved every second of torture you put him through and I have to say it was kind of hot to see you tear him down like that." Clarke admitted, giggling as Lexa's thumb froze and her cheeks flushed once again.

"I.. errr.." She couldn't form her words properly and it caused Clarke to curl forward slightly and laugh harder at the girls reaction. Lexa huffed and gently pushed the blonde's shoulder with her free hand, whilst shaking her head. She realised how much Clarke enjoyed her display discomfort and couldn't help the smile that crept on her face, the girls laughter was so beautiful to listen to. She decided to allow the girl this one moment, just grateful to have her smiling and not being tortured by the rest of the story she had yet to tell.

"His reaction was pretty funny huh?" She managed to say without messing up. Clarke looked up, noticing how she had moved forward in her fit of laughter and how close Lexa was to her. Their eyes met, Clarke's breath taken away by how beautiful and green they were. She subconsciously moved closer to the girl, gravitated towards her whilst completely captivated by green. Lexa couldn't look away, she didn't realise how close the girl was becoming, she had gotten lost in Clarke's sapphire blue sea. The touch of Clarke's lips on her own caused her to freeze, eye widening at the sudden realisation of what was happening.

Lexa jolted back and Clarke watched the shock grow on Lexa's face, doubt and embarrassment flooding through her systems. She was so sure...

"I'm so sorry." Clarke jumped up from her seat on the girl's bed and grabbed her bag to walk out.

"No wait!" Lexa called and Clarke froze, halfway to the bedroom door. She heard footsteps behind her and flinched as she felt Lexa touch her shoulder. "Please I'm sorry." Clarke frowned, the apology sending in a complete state of confusion. She turned to the girl, eyebrows drawn together and hurt still evident in her eyes.

"I like you Clarke. I know I only met you yesterday, but I truly do." Lexa began, hands wringing in front of her but she refused to let her nervousness break the eye contact. "I said in Miss Doherty's class that I need a little extra time to process things, I don't know why I froze or pulled away. I think it's shock more than anything." Clarke watched the girl, clearly anxious about the situation. She understood that it was hard for Lexa and she needed for them to be clear about their feelings.

"I like you too Lexa." Clarke gave the girl a nervous smile and she could visibly see the relief in Lexa's stance. "I'm sorry, we didn't talk before I kind of just... kissed you." They both let out a nervous giggle and broke their gaze for the first time, looking around for something to break the awkwardness. Lexa glanced at the blonde and sighed, deciding to bite the bullet.

"Clarke," She starts, gaining the girl's attention once more. "Can we start over?" she asked in a small, shy voice and Clarke's heart fluttered at the delicacy of her tone and admission of wanting to try again. She took a deep breath and smiled at Lexa, before offering her hand. Lexa entwined their fingers and allowed herself to be guided back to her bed. They sat on the edge once more and looked to each other, Clarke taking both the girls soft hands into her own.

"I really like you Lexa. I want us to be able to talk about things. I know this is really sudden, so we can take it slow. I think the most important thing is that we get to know each other. Why don't we start there." Clarke started, Lexa nodded in agreement.

"Ok, where do you want to start?" she asked.

"Wherever you want." Clarke prompted, wanting her to decide.

"Um.. I mean it can be anything right?" Lexa questioned, and Clarke nodded with a patient smile while gently rubbing her thumb over the back of the girl's hand. Lexa let the motion send waves of comfort through her as she thought for a moment, then went with the first thing that came to her mind. "I skipped 2nd grade." Clarke's eyebrows shot up in surprise, she hadn't met someone who had done that.

"Wow, that's cool." Clarke responded, giving Lexa an encouraging smile.

"My parents went into the school one day and said that the work being sent home was too easy for me. They observed me in class for the next few weeks and made the decision that academically, my ability was nearly two years ahead of someone my age. While I was in the system I didn't do much. I helped look after Tris, did my homework and read a lot." Lexa  said, thinking back to the few memories she had left of her time there.

"That's pretty amazing Lexa. So does that mean your 15?" Clarke asked, the motion of her thumb unchanging.

"I actually turn 16 next week." Lexa glanced away for a moment, she had been a little nervous about her age.

"Aha, that's great. Thanks for telling me." Clarke winked and pulled a heavenly giggled from the girls lips.

"What about you?"

"Ermm... Where to start.." Clarke thought through different options. Lexa moved further onto the sheets, gently guiding Clarke to join her resting against the pillows at the head of the bed. They twisted to face one another, knees touching with their entwined hands resting on them. Clarke moved to rest her left arm on the head board and her head in her hand, Lexa now with Clarke's hand between her own. Clarke looked down and smiled at the connection before continuing.

"Well, I didn't skip a grade." Clarke poked at the girl, to which Lexa rolled her eyes and smiled. "I have a love of art though. I love painting, drawing, sketching.. You name it. I errr.. I don't like to brag, but I'm proud to say that I have a painting up in the Pediatrics wing of the hospital where my Mom works." Lexa's eyes widened slightly and her smile grew bigger.

"Wow Clarke, that's fantastic. Congratulations, you must be really good." Lexa said enthusiastically.

"Well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that. It's not my place to say if I'm good at it really, other people have to be the judge of that."

"It doesn't matter what other people think Clarke. If you are proud of a piece of work, other people's thoughts and views are not important." She encouraged the girl, pausing slightly before asking, "Can I see some of your art sometime?" It's a question that raised both of their heart rates. It's asking for more, asking for another moment like this one. Clarke's remaining doubts disappear as she nods.

"I'd like that." A wide grin spread across Lexa's face, it was infectious. Clarke giggled again. "Ok, your turn again."

"Umm," Lexa took a few second to think. "Tris and Anya are very sneaky and love to play pranks on people. I remember a few years back, they decided to take the week leading up to Halloween to the max - Anya obviously teaching Tris her ways. I was walking through the house after I got back from ballet one night and the lights were off. I went into the utility to dump my laundry and Tris jumped out of the basket screaming and wearing a mask. I screamed and turned to run out but Anya was behind me with a mask on too which made me jump again, only this time I slipped on the tiles. I just curled into a ball till I heard their screams turn into laughs." Lexa looked to Clarke who was attempting to clamp her mouth shut around her laughter caused by the image in her head. "Hey you're supposed to be on my side!" Clarke let out the laugh she'd been holding.

"I am on your side. I, however, can also appreciate the hilarity of the situation." she smiled.

"Mhm.. Whatever. It's your turn." Lexa playfully shook her head.

"Ok, I..." She began then joked, "I could go on about my love for Harry Potter but that's nothing new. By the way, you have to tell me all about you trip to the studio tour. Do not spare any details." Lexa smiled.

"I will, I'll show you the wand I bought and also the cloak. Oooo and the Hufflepuff scarf!" She said excitedly as she thought through her inventory.

"The scarf will definitely come in handy around here." Clarke nodded her approval. "What else. As you know I have no siblings. My Mom was an only child too but my Uncle David, Dad's younger brother, lives in France and has 2 kids. My family is small, but we're close. We visit them or they visit us every year. Or we all take over my grandparents house in Cali for a few weeks like we did this summer."

"That sounds lovely. Are your cousins the same age as you?" Lexa asked.

"One is 14 and the other is 10. They actually announced that they were expecting a third baby while we were out there."

"Wow, that's great Clarke. That's also quite an achievement of an age gap." Lexa pointed out, tilting her head to the side slightly whilst thinking about the logistics before deciding it was probably best not too.

"Yeah, something about Amélie turning 38 and panicking about her biological clock." Clarke shrugged, looking to Lexa and nodding for her to take her turn.

"Erm.. Well, you may have picked up that did ballet for a long time but before I left Montana I was taking martial arts classes."

"Now that's cool. I'm not an huge exercise type of person, but that's always looked really good." Lexa giggled at Clarke.

"I didn't do any competitions or anything, it was just for fun."

"So if Finn ever becomes an issue again, you can verbally tear him down whilst also physically kicking his ass."

"Hopefully it won't come to that... But yes. Yes I could." Lexa nodded proudly and Clarke smiled.

"Ok... Ermm, although I can be quite clumsy, I have never broken a bone or been in hospital for an injury or illness. Something my mother's quite proud of." She added. "Medicine is another passion of mine though." She looked to Lexa, who nodded for her to continue.

"My mother is a surgeon, a Cardiothoracic surgeon. Since I could start to understand the basics of what she did, I have just found it fascinating. She saves lives on a day to day basis, has probably performed over a thousand surgeries and is one of the best in her speciality. I'm so proud to call myself her daughter." Lexa gazed at Clarke, the girl's passion and love so present that it made her feel so happy that she was allowed to witness it, that Clarke chose to share this with her. "I know, we've had our moments and it has been tough. She found out she was pregnant just after she had finished her residency and postponed her fellowship to have me. She's had to work long hours and weekends, but we made it work. I know the workload is high but I think I want that. To be able to take someone's life into your own hands and know that you have the skill to heal them, make them better."

"It's a beautiful passion and I'm so grateful for the surgeons that helped Tris and I when we were younger. It's an incredible thing to do Clarke." Lexa admired, adoration of the girl evident in her tone whilst still gazing at Clarke. Clarke loved the way her name rolled off Lexa's tongue. She met her gaze, the forest and the sea becoming alive, growing with their heartbeats. There was a tingling sensation where their hands touched and the anticipation grew in the air. Lexa gently squeezed Clarke's hand and moved forward a little, sitting on her knees.

"Clarke." The blonde moved closer, leaving little distance between them.  Clarke glided her tongue over her lips and Lexa glanced down at the movement, taking a breath.

"Can I kiss you Lexa?" Clarke asked this time, gazing into the girls eyes and almost getting lost in the forest it held.

"Yes." Lexa whispered. They both slowly moved forward , Clarke's eyes remaining on Lexa in case the girl changed her mind.

Her lips glided over Lexa's at first, barely grazing the surface. She felt Lexa press her lips onto her own and Clarke's eyes fluttered closed at the sensation. They slowly moved their lips together, a slight tingling sensation developing and hands tighten around each other's as they let the feelings wash over them. Lexa's left hand let go of Clarke's and ran it up her arm before gently setting it on the girls shoulder.  

Clarke pulled back slightly, opening her eyes to watch Lexa's slowly open. The girl's eyes flickered between Clarke's and her chest visibly rose as she took a deep breath, trying to settle her racing heartbeat.

"Was that ok?" Lexa whispered, filling the air between them. Clarke smiled at her, nudging her nose against Lexa's before gently resting her head against the brunette's and raising a hand to cover the one on her shoulder. She let out a content sigh before responding.

"That was perfect."

 

-

 

They spent the next hour or so sitting together on the bed, maintaining their closeness with hands still connected. They continued their conversation, learning about one another and their lives, future aspirations and hopes.

Clarke talked about her hopes for university but explained her dilemma, her indecision on what passion she should follow. To train her hands to pick up a paint brush or a scalpel for the rest of her life. Lexa confided in her that whilst she was eternally grateful to Indra and Gustus for being her mother and father, she sometimes wondered what life would be like had her parents not died in the car crash that almost took her own life, as well as Tris'. They shared smiles and laughter, reassured and encouraged one another and listened to what the other had to say attentively.

Around 5:00, Lexa heard footsteps approaching her door and leaned back slightly as she heard a soft knock on the door, knowing it would be Tris. She glanced to the door and back at Clarke, gently tightening her grip on the girls hand as if to ask ' _is this ok?_ ' Clarke nodded with a smile and Lexa called out to let them come in.

Tris entered the room, eyes immediately drawn to the girls position on the bed. She looked down at their joined hands and gave them a soft smile.

"So Dad was asking what you want to do about dinner, he said that he forgot to defrost the chicken and is too lazy to cook tonight." Tris explained before asking with a grin, "Take-away?" Lexa looked to Clarke.

"You want to stay for dinner?" Clarke looked between the siblings, noticing the similarities in their features. She began to realise that this would turn into a 'meet the parents' situation but if Lexa's family were anything like she had described, she felt comfortable with the situation - even if it was happening a lot earlier than she expected.

"If you don't mind." Clarke began. "Mom's not home till later, as she has a late surgery. I will eat anything you give me, I am a food dustbin." The Green sisters giggled at Clarke.

"You're going to fit right in then." Tris said, subtly giving the girl her approval. Lexa felt her heart expand at Tris' words, grateful that whilst she could be a complete lunatic at times, the girl was very mature for her age. She was proud of her and the young woman she was becoming. "Chinese good?" The girls nodded before Tris sent them one last smile and left the room, closing the door behind her. Lexa turned back to Clarke, saw the warm smile on her face and returned it.

"As much as I have enjoyed sitting here with you, we should probably get some work done." Lexa says, shifting to move off the bed.

"Probably." Clarke agrees, but tugs on the girl's hand and pulling her back to place one final kiss on her lips. Lexa's smiled as their lips met with her eyes fluttering closed. She pulled away slightly and looked to Clarke with her eyebrow raised.

"Work." She said and moved off the bed to grab her laptop from her desk and school bag from the floor to take back to the bed. Clarke grabbed her notepad and a pencil from her bag and they sat together on Lexa's bed, working through the project and ideas they had for it. They thought of some funny lines they could use and different images they could project up onto the screen behind them - deciding they could try to take things from a different angle and focus not just on the huge life changes, but the little things that people could also forget about.

They were about a third of a way through their project when they heard the front door slam shut and a voice calling up the staircase, announcing dinner had arrived. They pushed their things to the side and made their way down the stairs to the kitchen, where Gustus was pulling tubs out of a plastic bag and Indra was taking plates out of a cupboard. Tris was setting out the table when she heard the girls walk in, she turned and sent a smile their way, before continuing, placing glasses out on the table. The two adults noticed the girls walking in and paused to introduce themselves.

"You must be Clarke." Gustus began, a subtle edge of excitement evident in his voice.

"It's lovely to meet you." Indra continues, taking in the serene smile on her daughters face and the closeness of the two girls standing beside the breakfast bar. She chose to make a mental note for later.

"Thank you, it's nice to meet you too Mrs Green, Mr Green." Clarke replied politely, taking in the appearance of Lexa's parents, both well dressed in a suit that fit their bodies well. Her greeting earned a scoff in return.

"Please call me Indra. I have enough formal titles in my job, they aren't needed at home." She reassured the girl with a nod, before handing out the plates in hand. "Right, everyone help yourself. I think we have enough to feed the entire team back at Fort Carson so please eat up."

"Yes Ma'am." Tris saluted as she moved to join them. Indra rolled her eyes and handed the girl a plate, who immediately began to pile food onto it. They stood around the island, filling their plates then made their way to the table. Lexa grabbed a jug of water from the fridge and filled everyone's glasses before taking her seat beside Clarke.

"So Clarke, have you lived in Polis long?" Indra asked from her seat at the head of the table.

"We have lived here for long time. Before here, we moved from Boston, when I was really young, to live up around City Park as it was close to the hospital where Mom started to work. It was too busy for them though, so they decided to move south and a little way out of the city centre." Clarke responded with a smile, looking around the table as she answered.

"That's nice, this is a lovely area. Very calm, everyone is friendly." Gustus commented, resting his fork down on his plate. "What hospital does your mother work at?"

"The University of Colorado Hospital. She's the head of Cardiothoracic Surgery there."

"Ahh, I thought I spotted similarities. You're Dr Abigail Griffin's daughter." He smiled before explaining, "I met your mother yesterday. I am the CEO of a firm that helps the hospital with their legal stuff. I was at a meeting with the board and they introduced her as their next chief of surgery." Clarke smiled proudly, remembering her Mom announcing the promotion and title to her the previous week.

"Yeah, she's over the moon. I think she mentioned you yesterday actually when she was talking about the meeting." Clarke remembered back to sitting with her parents the previous night.

"All good things I hope." Gustus joked and decided to give the girl a break from the conversation being focused on her. "So what's the project you guys have been working on?" Lexa looked to Clarke, whose mouth was full of food and smiled.

"It's for English Studies. Miss Doherty basically told us to think about what the end of the world would be like. What caused it, people's reactions, does humanity survive the apocalypse? Stuff like that. We decided to try and mix it up, talking partially about the major effects it could have and also about the little things that people forget about." Lexa explained.

"Like what?" Tris frowned. "Everyone fleeing the city and forgetting about their cat?" The table laughed, Clarke and Lexa nodded at the girl.

"Essentially yes." Clarke started, taking a sip from her glass of water. "We were going to try and make the presentation fun and more Shaun of the Dead rather than The Walking Dead."

"Like people surviving the apocalypse and putting money into a vending machine for a snack?" Indra suggested and the table laughed again.

"Kind of Mom. We want to get them thinking about things they don't realise are actually important. Trying to give a different perspective on things." Lexa tried to think of an example. She took the final bite of her dinner before sitting back in her seat, completely full. "Like packing your phone and its charger, but neither will be useful as the power will quickly go out. No plug sockets to charge your phone that would be useless anyways because the phone lines are down." By now the others are starting to finish their food, placing their attention solely on the girls.

"Or thinking that zombies can't swim so everyone piles onto a boat, but how do we know they can't swim? Has anyone met a zombie before and asked?" Clarke joked.

"Oooo! What about girls and their periods! Fleeing your home and forgetting to pack your tampons!" Tris excitedly adds, causing the majority of the table to fall into laughter once more.

"Tris! People are still eating!" Indra attempts to scold her daughter but can't reign in her laughter.

"What?! It's the end of the world and you're still queasy about tampons Mom?"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need to know if you want more to this. I have more to give, I have at least another chapter in mind, but is this a good place to end it?
> 
> ophelias-heart on Tumblr.


	5. The Ultimate Offence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The conclusion of Clarke and Lexa's evening together. They have some interesting interactions with Tris and discover their shared love for Taylor Swift and School of Rock.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The evening is a little drawn out by this stage, but I love to write the little discoveries and moments they have in the dawning moments of their relationship. Besides, who doesn't love tiny tampering Tris.

  
Dinner had been a success. Everyone was full of Chinese food, good conversation was made and the girls took charge of cleaning the kitchen whilst Indra and Gustus excused themselves to change out of their work attire. As soon as they had offered to clean up, Tris had hopped out of her seat and disappeared out of the door to the hallway. She reappeared a minute later with her iPod in hand and shooed her parents out of the room. She set her device on the docking station and selected her playlist entitled 'Whistle while u work'. Kelly Rowland's song ' _Work'_  began to play through the speakers in the ceiling and she moved around the kitchen to the music, collecting plates from the table and piling them by the sink.

As the girl slid and spun her way around the kitchen, Lexa and Clarke shared a look and a giggle.

"Hey stop slacking! I can't provide the music, entertainment and clean up after you at the same time!" Tris called at them from the sink before spinning and smoothly sliding across the tile to the dishwasher.

"But you're doing so well!" Lexa exclaimed.

"You got the triple threat going Tris, we'd hate to interrupt." Clarke added, admiring the girls energy and free spirit.

"Exactly! Look at you. You're working it good sista." Lexa sassily approved, cocking her hip to the side and wagging her finger. Clarke laughed loudly at the girl, the persona a completely different side to Lexa that she hadn't witnessed before.  She liked it... a lot. Tris spun to her sister and took a few steps towards them, exaggerating the movement in her hips and her hand on her waist.

"Girl, you better start cleaning that table or I will be cleaning you." She said, pointing from Lexa to the table. The girl froze and her eyebrows drew together. "That didn't work..." She laughed at herself and grabbed the cloth from bedside the sink, throwing at her sibling. Lexa caught it and grinned. She pulled a chair out from the table and indicated for Clarke to sit back down.

"No it didn't but nice try ankle bitter." Lexa began to clean the table.

"Hey, you know one day you are going to wake up in pain and wonder what is going on. You will pull back the duvet and I will be there, biting at it, trying to take a chunk out of that ankle you keep talking about." Tris pointed a knife at her as she spoke. The knife would have seemed a little more scary if the girl didn't have a rainbow printed on her fluffy purple jumper or fluffy pink unicorn slippers on.

"I was wondering where you were going with that, it started a little creepy.." Lexa said, looking up from the placemat she was wiping and pulling an awkward face at Clarke who giggled.

"Yeah.. I need to start thinking about things before I say them.." She mused, gazing out the window to the sun beginning to set in the early autumn evening.

"I think it's refreshing Tris." Clarke said from her seat with a smile. "You're certainly unlike anyone else I've ever met. Although, you do have a similar vibe to my friend Octavia." She then thought about that for a moment, realising her own similarities with the girl. "And me... I'm prone to random dance numbers when doing the laundry or tidying my room." Tris smiled at her.

"Yep, I do exactly the same." She assures the blonde.

"Nothing like a good rhythm to get you through mundane tasks." Clarke states with a smile.

"You should see Lexa." Tris points to the girl who had been distracted by the blonde's smile.

"Huh?" She jolts out of her short daydream, looking between the two girls.

"I was just about to tell Clarke how you pirouette and leap around to Mozart or Tchaikovsky when cleaning your room." Tris deviously grinned, causing Lexa's face to flare red and her eyes to glare at the girl. Clarke looked to the girl and clamping her lips shut to stop herself from laughing at her reaction, leaving no doubt that it was true.

"I haven't done that in ages Tris, I used to practise for my recitals." Lexa tried to redeem herself.

"Ahem, 4 weeks ago. What were you doing, aside from unpacking boxes, when I walked in." Tris raised her eyebrows. Lexa glanced to Clarke then turned to gaze to look down at cloth in her hands, mumbling her response under her breath. "I'm sorry big sister, but Clarke can't hear you and it's rude to mumble." Lexa's glare returned, even sharper than before, and she straightened her back.

"I was practising a piece I learned to Swan Lake." Tris howled with infectious laughter, causing Clarke's resolve to break and join in. Lexa rolled her eyes at the girls and sighed. "It isn't that funny guys."

"But it is!" Tris managed to say between fits, legs now crossed and fist slamming on the counter.

"Tris-"

"You don't understand!" Tris calmed herself enough to speak, albeit a little broken with giggles. "I walked in and you were pirouetting with a teddy bear in one arm and that unicorn you won last Christmas in the other! BUT the thing is you didn't put them down.." She dissolved into laughter once more, Clarke still giggling as she hadn't regained her composure. Lexa looked between the two as they shared a bonding moment at her own expense. She couldn't deny it was funny. As she focused on the sound that Clarke created, it was hard not to break into a smile.

"You just... You danced around the room... For like 5 minutes... With the stuffed animals in hand... Ah ha ha!" Her laughter continued, now resembling more of a cackle. Clarke's laughter had calmed and was now sending Lexa a large smile. Lexa's heart fluttered at the site, it made her feel warm and happy that the girl had given her that little moment. A moment that was a mixture of content, of excitement and of happiness. Lexa's frown broke and she responded with her own smile.

"Seriously, I didn't even leave you guys alone and you're in your own little bubble!" Tris exclaimed, sobering quickly when noticing them captivated by the other. She threw a tea towel at them. "You're not going to be that lovey dovey, PDA kind of couple are you? Because I may have to carry a barf bucket me with at all times."

 

-

 

Once again, the girls managed to escape the crazy vortex of what the family knew to be 'Hurricane Tris'. The kitchen was spotless and they had left the girl in the living room with Indra and Gustus. They had returned to Lexa's room, now in similar positions on the bed to how they were previously with Lexa leaning back against the pillows at the head of the bed, her laptop perched on her thighs, and Clarke relaxed beside her, notepad and pen left forgotten on the bedside table. Work was far from their minds.

Lexa's iTunes was open on her screen and Clarke was leaning slightly towards the girl to get a better view. The database held several thousands of titles, Lexa having raided her parents & siblings extensive music collection, and Clarke was admiring her very diverse range of music. The software was set to random and they had already listened different songs including The Eagles' ' _Take It Easy_ ', Florence + The Machine's ' _You Got The Love_ ' and they were now in the middle of Plain White T's ' _Hey There Delilah_ '.

"Oh my God, I love this song. So many layers to it but it's also just a guitar! It's quite sad but romantic and happy at the same time." Clarke said, eyes bright as they scanned the screen.

"It is. It pretty much sums up long distance relationships, which seem really tough." Lexa admitted, eyes still focused on the screen. 

"Ooo! Is that Taylor Swift?" Clarke excitedly pointed to an album cover.

"Yeah, I like her music." Lexa switched menu and scrolled through to find Taylor Swift's music, clicking on her name to reveal 90 songs by the artist. Clarke whistled

"You really like her music." Lexa poked her tongue out at the blonde.

"She is a really good songwriter and performer. Brilliant live."

"I know, I saw her Red tour, it was really good." Clarke supported the girl who frowned at her response. "What? I never said I didn't like her." Lexa rolled her eyes with a smile and looked back to the screen.

"What's your favourite song?" Lexa asked.

"Wow, I don't know if you'll have it..." Clarke said sarcastically and Lexa giggled.

"Come on Clarke."

"Ok. I love quite a few of them. Favourite album is Fearless, no contest." Lexa nods beside her and hums in agreement. "But I think my favourite song has to be either Safe & Sound or Everything Has Changed."

"Both really good songs. Safe & Sound is one of my favourites too." Lexa smiled. "Fearless is my favourite album overall, I love all of the songs on it and could listen to it on repeat. Favourite songs... Safe & Sound, Tim McGraw and Style. But I love them all.." Clarke watches Lexa's smile grow as she continues to talk about the music, her passion for the songs emerging and she can't help but notice a similarity between her personality and the themes, the different style and pace when compared with other songs. The brunette tapped the random button and ' _Ours_ ' begins to play.

"Aww, I love this one. It's so sweet." Lexa turns to look at Clarke to see her nose scrunched and wide grin in place. Her eyes take in the happiness evident on her face, wide sapphire eyes looking to her and the butterflies take flight in her stomach as her heart leaps. She knew that she would do just about anything to keep that happiness present, she felt herself fall just a little more upon seeing the quirk of Clarke's scrunched nose. She yearned to discover all of the girls features and quirks.

Clarke watched Lexa zone out once more, gazing at her with that same look of adoration from before. Her heart fluttered again and hoped that Lexa would continue to look at her like this, the way she knew she herself looked at Lexa.  Her emerald eyes sparkled, reflecting the light emitted from the computer screen, long curls cascaded over her shoulder and she was bathed in an warm orange hue as the sun set over the mountains in the distance. The angelic image warmed her heart and she longed to witness to it again.

"Do you have a favourite song?" Clarke asked, breaking the silence and Lexa's reverie. The girl felt like she should be embarrassed for being caught again, but the blonde only resonated warmth and acceptance. Lexa filled herself with these feelings, taking it all in with an air of contentedness, and laced her left hand with Clarke's right - the girl facing towards her, leaning against the pillows with her legs pulled up partially underneath her.

"I love lots of songs, I don't particularly have one favourite above everything else." Clarke smiled at this, unsurprised.

"What would you say are some of your favourites then?" Lexa tapped on the laptop to play a different song from her collection. As she opened her mouth to reply, the song changed and The Foundations 'Build Me Up Buttercup' began to play. They both laughed. "I love this song! There's a video somewhere of my parents dancing to this on their wedding day."

"That's cute!" Lexa chuckled.

"Back to my question." Clarke prompted.

"Yes. Sometimes it depends on my mood but I love Taylor Swift's music, obviously, Kelly Clarkson, my sister Anya got me into bands like Blink 182, All American Rejects and Fall Out Boy. I grew up listening to and falling in love with bands like Queen, The Beetles, Bon Jovi, Guns n Roses, The Eagles, all because they were the bands my parents always had playing in the car and they have practically been ingrained into all of us." Lexa smiles at memories of family road trips and grocery runs waltz through her mind, the 4 kids buckled in the back of the SUV and Gustus putting the mix CD into the system before turning up the volume. "Stevie Nicks' ' _Edge Of Seventeen_ ' and ' _Dreams_ ', which she wrote for Fleetwood Mac, are both amazing songs."

"I really like Fleetwood Mac, my Mom loves them and plays them in the car a lot, but I don't think I have really listened to Stevie Nicks on her own." Lexa's eyes widened and her hand moved to her chest as she turned to look at Clarke as if she has committed the ultimate offence. 

"You what?" She said as if horrified by the revelation. Clarke taps her on the shoulder and rolls her eyes.

"Play me something then! Take my Stevie Nicks... No that just sounds wrong." Clarke frowned and wrinkled her nose.

"Yes, let's not." Lexa laughed, noticing the quirk appearing again, and returned her eyes to the computer, she scrolling through the artists to find who she was looking for. The track changed to play ' _Edge of Seventeen_ ' and as Clarke listened, she couldn't help but recognise the song from something. She tilted her head, listening as the intro transitioned to the first verse and suddenly the penny dropped.

"School of Rock!" Clarke exclaimed, very happy that she'd figured it out. "This was in School of Rock, Jack Black and Joan Cusack at the bar and he's persuading her to let them go on the field trip." Lexa grins.

"Yep! I love that film, it is fantastic."

"So do I! I haven't seen it in ages."

"We could watch it if you want? I have it on DVD."

"You do? You have just gone up several places in my book now."

"Well, I was hoping I was already relatively high in your book." Lexa raised her eyebrow to Clarke, letting go of her hand to climb off the bed and walk over to her book shelves. Clarke flushed slightly as her eyes dropped to watch the swing of Lexa's hips.

"Well.. You are quite high. There are several things that have helped you climb up." Lexa's eyes flickered to Clarke as scanned the shelves and she picked up the film.

"What things might they have been?" Lexa questioned, a small smile gracing her lips as she walked to the TV sitting on the black chest of draws in the far right corner of the room.

"Well, you were very sweet when we first met. That started you off quite high from the beginning." Clarke pointed out, mind flickering back to the day before in Miss Doherty's class when they sat together and introduced each other. Lexa watched Clarke's expression as she seemed to get lost in looking at her, seeing a smile gracing the girls face. After setting up the movie, she took the remote for the TV and walked back to the bed, sliding back into position next to Clarke. The motion brought Clarke back to and she sent Lexa a smile.

"Well I'm glad my first impression was good, you know what with all the stuttering and the confusion.." Clarke raised her hand to Lexa's cheek, guiding her to look at her. She saw the girl's smile and knew that her memory of that moment was happy.

"Stuttering and confusion happened on both of our parts. I'm glad we sat together." Clarke stated, thumb gently caressing Lexa's cheek. The brunette leaned into the motion, drawing a sense of happiness from it. She looked into Clarke's blue eyes.

"I'm glad we sat together too." She replied with a warm smile and Clarke responded in kind. The blonde shuffled closer to the girl and rested her head on her shoulder as they leaned back against the pillows, Lexa navigating the DVD menus to play the film.

 

-

 

They spent the next few hours enjoying Jack Black waltzing around the staff of the prestigious prep school and convincing the kids to make a rock band. They paused every now and then to share a joke or piece of trivia, including a 5 minute karaoke session to Tenacious D's ' _Tribute_ ' and discovering a shared love of old Nickelodeon shows with a promise to watch some together next time. By the time the credits began to roll, it was late evening and dark outside, the final remnants of sunlight lost behind the mountains outside Lexa's windows. Clarke checked her phone to see it was 8:13 and figured her mother would be on her way home by now.

"I guess I should get going, my Mom will be home soon and it's getting late." Clarke said, a little sad that their time together that evening was drawing to a close.

"No worries." They extracted themselves from the other and climbed off the bed, Lexa replacing her stuff on the desk while Clarke gathered her things. Once Clarke had finished, she placed her car keys in her jeans pocket and set her bag on the bed. She turned to see Lexa leaning against the wall beside her desk, waiting for her to be ready. The brunette walked forward to join her beside the bed and wrapped her arms around the blonde in a warm hug.

"Thank you for coming over Clarke." Clarke wrapped her arms around the girls waist and pulled her even closer, taking in the faint scent of Lexa's perfume. She pulled back a little, keeping her arms in place to look into green eyes.

"Thank you, Lexa."

Lexa smiled and leant forward, gently caressing Clarke's lips with her own. Clarke's eyes fluttered closed and enjoyed the sensation of the girls lips against her own. Together they enjoyed their last moments alone, Lexa hand gently cupping Clarke's cheek and Clarke's hands on her back. They separated minutes later, Clarke following the brunette's movement to place one final soft kiss on her lips before stepping back and taking a deep breath, releasing it slowly.

"Wow."

"I know."

Clarke gave her one final smile before swinging her bag over her shoulder and taking Lexa's hand in her own. Lexa guided them out of the room and down the stairs, walking towards the large living room to see the other three residents lounging on the sofa watching the news. The footsteps broke their attention away from the TV and they watched as the girls appeared and entered the room slightly. Lexa reassuringly tightens her grip on Clarke's hand as she saw the three sets of eyes glance down at their connection and back to their faces. Indra seemed unfazed, her expression unchanging, whereas Gustus' eyes lit up with excitement and his lips widen into a large grin, white teeth showing but remained silent. Tris grins from the far end of the room and wiggles her eyebrows at them.

"It was lovely to meet you all. Thank you for the lovely dinner." Clarke politely spoke up after a moment, trying keep from breaking out into laughter at the different expressions.

"Of course! Any time Clarke." Gustus excitedly gushed, sitting up with the his hands and the remote in his lap.

"She won't want too if you scare her off my love." Indra comments beside him and the family giggled. The woman's face softened as she looked to Clarke. "It was lovely to meet you too Clarke. Enjoy the rest of your evening."

"Thank you, you too. Bye."

"Bye!" Tris practically squealed and waved at the blonde. Clarke gave the girl a big smile, waving back as Lexa guided her away from them to the front door. She put her boots back on and followed Lexa out of the front door to driveway.

"Drive safe, please let me know that you got home ok." Lexa requested, tugging on Clarke's hand to pull her into a final hug. Clarke rested her head on the girls shoulder and enjoyed the moment.

"Of course, see you tomorrow." She pressed her lips to Lexa's cheek and pulled away from her, unlocking the car and climbing in.

"Bye." Lexa said and carefully shut the car door as Clarke started the ignition and backed out of the drive. She sent Lexa one last wave before driving off down the road. Lexa allowed moments of their afternoon together flicker through her mind as she turned and walked back into the house, closing and locking the door fully. She took a moment,  closing her eyes to take a deep breath allowing a dopey grin to grow. She turned to see the youngest family member standing by the staircase with an expectant look on her faces and froze.

"What?" Tris grinned at Lexa's question and took a step closer to the girl.

"You think she's gorgeous. You want to kiss her." The girl slowly began in a sing song voice and Lexa's eyes widen, recognising the words.

"No-"

"You want to hug her." She continued, pointing the Lexa and dramatically dancing her way closer.

"Stop! I knew I shouldn't have watched that with you." Lexa sighed, trying to hide her smile and not laugh at her sisters witty reaction.

"You want to **love** her."

"You little..." Lexa jumped forward to grab the girl but missed, the girl having quickly leapt back and squealing as she ran away down the hall to the kitchen. "Come back ankle biter!"

"You want to smooch her!" She shouted behind her, darting around the island and back behind the table as Lexa quickly entered the room behind her.

"I would so love to hurt you right now." Lexa quoted, eyes glaring at the girl opposite her, trying to decide the best way to get her.

"As long as you smile!" Tris faked right and Lexa followed the movement but the girl darted back out and through the arch to the living room, jumping over the back of the couch close to her parents and moving to the opposite side of the coffee table to put more distant between them. Indra and Gustus glanced at the girl, unfazed by their daughters antics, and turned back to continue their conversation.

"Mom, Dad help me! She's gonna get me!" Tris cried, watching Lexa stalk closer towards her.

"That's nice dear." Gustus responded, focusing back on his wife.

"Hey dork brain, if you weren't a girl I'd beat your face off." Lexa stated, trying to decide the best way to move as she approached the back of the couch.

"Yeah? If you weren't a girl, I'd beat  **your**  face off." Tris threw back, puffing her chest and raising her arms to show how tough she is.

"You calling me a girl?" Lexa faked right, but Tris took an extra moment and realised her plan. As Lexa ran around the sofa, Tris dashed in the opposite direction back out to the hallway, screeching as she quickly ascended the stairs to find a hiding place whilst Lexa was on her tail.

"You called me one!"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone has any prompts or suggestions for this AU or any other, please let me know.  
> ophelias-heart on Tumblr.


	6. I Like You Montana

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life studies with Octavia, art class with Clarke and what happens when you don't realise you've poked a bear.

 

Life studies was an interesting class, Lexa had decided. Within the first 10 minutes, the words gender, mortgage, equality, queer, consent and societal stereotypes had already been used and Lexa realised how conservative the little town she left in Montana really was. She was shocked by how forward the students were here and how open their teacher was about all the topics questioned, but liked the potential it had.

Lexa sat beside Octavia in the front row of seats that were set up in the middle of the classroom, whilst Mrs Jacobs sat at on the desk at the front of the class, legs hanging and arms calmly resting in her lap. She was also Clarke's Psychology teacher and the blonde had raved about her before they parted ways earlier that morning. The teacher had begun by introducing herself, then quickly rolled into discussing the topics they'll cover during the year and opening a forum for suggestions from the students on what they wanted to learn.

"...and from there we'll finish the school year revising the religious attitudes towards gender, sexual orientation and sexuality in time for your finals. Are there any questions on what I have just said or any suggestions for topics? I know you probably have other questions but we'll get to them later." Several students raised their hands, including  Octavia. She pointed to a student with his hand raised at the back, her nose flared slightly as she noticed him swinging on his chair and she straightened her back as she listened to him.

"So I wanted to know if these classes were just a discussion or if there would be other ways of learning. Like, visual displays we can look at. For educational purposes obviously." He turned to his friend, laughing with them thinking his joke was hilarious.

"Stand up." Mrs Jacobs said from the front. The boy looked to her and frowned.

"Huh?"

"Not 'huh', I told you to stand up." She repeated, authority lacing her voice and eyes focused. He stood up, now a little uncertain of what was happening. "Firstly, this class is about learning the different elements that can shape someone's life, learning about the building blocks of our society so that I can provide you with the right tools to achieve everything that you dream and not be knocked back by your lack of understanding of what people call the 'real world'. It's to teach you about the box you can either let yourself be taped into, or cutting yourself free. If you wish to interrupt my class with petty behaviour, you can read from a black and white, word only text book in Principle Jaha's office. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes ma'am." He said, sitting down and looking to the table clearly annoyed.

"I will not tolerate behaviour like that in my class." She now speaks to the rest of the group, looking to a few individuals around the room she knew could be a potential problem. "Coming to this class to gain self pleasure like Glen, isn't going to make this work. I want this space to be a place where no one is afraid to ask a question, that people feel safe to talk and discuss their feelings without fear of judgement. That doesn't mean to say that we can't have a joke about some things. The most important thing is that we bear in mind that everyone in this room is different, has had a different experience with the topics we are going to cover. They may identify differently to some of you, they may find some of what we talk about sensitive and that is ok. If you ever need to step outside for a break, you go right ahead. We will discuss things like sexual assault and rape."

Octavia adjusted herself slightly in her seat and glanced at Lexa, who felt the girl's eyes on her. The girl turned, noticing the girl looked a little uncomfortable, and frowned a little as if to ask _'are you ok?_ '. Octavia subtly nodded her head and refocused her attention on the teacher. Lexa followed her lead but made a mental note of the interaction.

"It is important that you know how to help yourself and others, that you can spot signs or recognise when a touch or action is unwarranted and how to deal with that situation best. I am in talks with someone to come in and lead a talk and demonstration on self defence, which is very important."

"Another important topic for you is the future. I'm also in talks with someone to come in and talk about your career options, not that you have to decide right now. You can decide that at 18, 60, 35 - that is you choice. My role is to show you the options you have. It is so important to know all the choices you have so that you can make the decision as to what one is right for you." She looked around the room to see majority of the students focused on she's saying and taking it on board. Pleased with the reaction, she decided to go back to her original question.

"Empowering speech over, any other suggestions or reasonable questions?" She asked, a few hands rose again. "Yes, Octavia." Mrs Jacobs turns to look at the girl a few seats away.

"I have no clue about Government and Politics other than Trump is a very bad man, I could use some other words but I'm not gonna." Octavia stated jokingly.

"Thank you." Mrs Jacobs smiled in humour.

"Can we talk about the basics of Politics?" Octavia asked with a smile.

"Of course, I hadn't planned on including it but it's a good suggestion. As a country, we tend to shove our political viewpoints in the face of every citizen - as well as other nations. It's the nature of our countries values, the freedom to tell everyone what we think and why it's right, but as I said earlier we all have different backgrounds and experiences." She paused for a moment and comments to herself. "Maybe we should incorporate some personal analysis into it.. Anyways, yes we shall Octavia, I'll get back to you on when but we will."

After that, Mrs Jacobs answered the remaining questions and introduced their starting topic. She paired them off to start discussing what they thought 'consent' was and in what situations it was necessary. Lexa and Octavia turned to each other, Octavia pulled her leg underneath her and fiddled with the pen in her hand.

"So I'm pretty sure consent is needed before we do **anything** involving someone else or something that doesn't belong to us." Octavia said, eyes lowered on the pen.

"Yep, I'm pretty sure you are right. Only time I think people can get away with it are emergency services saving people's lives when they are unable to give consent." Lexa frowned.

"They would probably consent if they weren't unconscious though."

"Yeah. I mean it goes against their duty of care to not. And it's definition is basically permission or agreement for something to happen."

"Yep." Octavia shifted in her seat again, eyes still downcast and words showing signs of irritation. "I don't understand people that don't understand what consent is. Or even just ignores it." As the girl frowned, Lexa took in her body language and expression. It was obvious that there is more her words than she was letting on.

"I don't either. People who disregard peoples wishes, who ignore when someone changes their mind after giving consent. We are allowed to change their minds and that consent has been revoked." Lexa continued.

"Yes. Asshole." Octavia said quietly through clenched teeth, causing Lexa to frown at the singular term. She was just about to ask her something when the teacher began talking again.

The rest of the lesson seemed to pass quickly after that, Lexa unable to ask the girl her question or continue their conversation as they were separated into bigger groups and distracted by the task set. After nodding to the teacher, they shouldered their bags and left the room to head to their final break of the week. They weaved their way through the stream of students to reach the Junior locker area and Lexa wondered if she should ask the girl about her comment in the previous lesson. They swapped around their books and notes for the next couple of lessons, Lexa finishing first and watching the girl as she moved her things around. She decided against voicing her concern, hoping that she would talk about it when she's ready. Maybe she'd mention it to Clarke. They walked out to the large courtyard to meet Clarke and Raven sitting on one of the many benches.

"Hey babes, how's it hanging?" Octavia announced her presence to the girls with a grin and plopped herself down next to Raven, wrapping her arms around the girl for a hug. Raven smiled and took the girl into her arms.

"All's good in the hood, boo." The girl replied, smiling at Lexa over Octavia's shoulder as she took the seat next to Clarke.

"Hey!" Clarke enthusiastically greeted the girl, subtly sliding her hand to rest on her leg. Lexa smiled and moved her hand to intertwine their fingers, holding them in her lap under the table.

"So Jacobs was as good as you said Griffsters. How many teachers can you name have 'consent' as their first topic of the year?" Octavia approved, as she opened her bag and pulled a banana out.

"I told you she was! Same league as Doherty."

"Whoa, let's not be hasty." Raven held her hands up, exaggerating her movement with eyes wide. Lexa giggles quietly to herself at the girl actions and Raven noticed, throwing the girl a wink before continuing. "We need a full inquiry into that statement Griffin."

"She is though! You don't have her for Psych Ray. Come on O, back me up here." Clarke picking the girl out who scrunches her face in indecision.

"I don't know Clarke, you know how I feel for Doherty." Octavia puts her hand on her chest and gazes of into the distance dramatically. Clarke huffs and turns to Lexa.

"Lex, she was good in your class right?" She tried to persuade the girl and squeezed her hand, out of site of the other girls. Lexa looked to the girl, sun glistening in her deep blue eyes and her golden hair laid over her shoulders in soft curls. She sighed as she realised this would be the first moment that she'd have to pick sides. Her, whatever they were, or her friends. She could go either way and earn brownie points, but who's were more valuable?

"She was quite nice Clarke and she did put that kid in his place at the beginning," Lexa began before Octavia interrupted, water bottle now in hand, as she saw the two girls frown.

"Fucking Glen Lennox making a stupid ass, sexist comments like usual." She grumbled. Clarke and Raven nodded in understanding then turned their attention back to the girl.

"But Doherty has been great in our classes Clarke.." The blonde's face dropped and she sighed as Raven and Octavia pumped their arms.

"Yes!" They shouted in unison, high fiving each other and then Lexa.

"I like you Montana." Raven stated with a definite nod and suddenly Octavia spat out her drink, spraying it across the table and partially on Clarke and Lexa opposite her. They shifted away in shock and Clarke's face crumpled in disgust.

"What the fuck O?" Clarke began to glare at the girl but it turned into a frown as she noticed the girl was laughing  hysterically.

"Imagine... Pa ha ha. Imagine if your name was Hannah!" Octavia continued to laugh loud and hard, eyes watering and curled over onto the table top. The other three looked to each other with concern for several seconds but the laughter was contagious. Raven's was the first facade to dissolve and join the girl's laughter, soon followed by the  other two. Several minutes of stomach aching laughter later, the girls finally calmed down.

"I think that gave me abs." Raven joked, holding her side.

"I know the feeling." Clarke added as she shifted in her seat, hand still in Lexa's lap. They fell into a comfortable silence for a few minutes, chewing their snacks before the break ended. Suddenly Lexa cleared her voice to grab their attention, frown in place and eyebrow raised.

"If you guys start calling Hannah Montana, imma punch someone." The girls instantly saw through her persona and giggled, already knowing that it would forever be in place. Once again, Octavia was the master of wit and her reply caused them to fall about laughing once more.

"She's beauty, she's grace. She'll punch you in the face."

 

-

 

Clarke sat in the back corner of the art room, completely zoned out with her ear phones in and eyes focused on the sketch book open on the table in front of her. Her teacher had let them go and work on their individual pieces. The task and theme had been explained and discussed and now her hands where messily covered in black charcoal, but her work clearly depicted a captivating fantasy world. The bright moon high in the sky, casting shadows into the tree line and causing the lake to glisten. Wolves partially hidden by the cover of darkness at the forest's edge seemed to watch over the activity that formed ripples in the lake - studying the creatures that were emerging by the water's edge. Pretty remarkable for 50 minutes worth of work.

Movement out of the corner of her eye brought her attention away and she realised that everyone was packing up. She removed her headphones and packed her things away, making a mental note of the teacher's request to finish the piece at home if they hadn't done so already. She followed the students out and left the department to grab her lunch and find her friends. A glance at her watch stating 12:15 made her realise why the corridors of the large school were still so empty and decided to make the most of being released five minutes early. She quickly grabbed her lunch from her locker and swapped her books over, before quickly moving to the dining hall to grab them a good table. She took her sketch book back out and continued her work, every so often popping a grape into her mouth from the open little box beside her.

Clarke was adding some texture to the trees when Lexa entered the room. The blonde looked up and smiled as she walked over, setting the black stick down and standing up to greet her. She took in the girls outfit of skinny black jeans and a grey t-shirt that said 'New York' on the front in white font, with grey hi top converse adorning her feet. Her backpack slid down her arm and dropped to the floor beside her as she wrapped her arms around Clarke, taking advantage of the practically empty hall.

"Well hey there." Clarke said, sliding her arms around the girls waist.

"Hey." Lexa responded with a smile and rested her head on the girls shoulder. She subtly turned her head to place a kiss on her girl's lower neck and Clarke's smile widened further as she felt the soft lips caress her skin. The girl pulled away and took the seat beside the blonde She noticed the work laid out in front of Clarke and her eyes widened.

"Oh my God Clarke, that's amazing." Lexa praised, looking at all the attention to detail in the girls work.

"Thanks." The blonde said, cheeks flushing a little.

"Seriously Clarke, that is really good." Lexa continued. The girl looked down at her work, eyes tracing the blends and shades and smiles.

"I've really enjoyed doing it. It's a little out of my comfort zone, I generally draw or paint people, or real life scenes, that I can see in front of me. The teacher told us that the theme was fantasy and this is what I came up with. I'm happy with how the lake turned out, the ripples around the people coming out and the sky looks pretty good." Clarke explained, passion evident in her voice. Lexa was proud to hear the positive tone in the girls voice as she talked about her work. "I need to do a little more to the trees, but I think it'll be good."

"It'll be great Clarke." Lexa encouraged her. Clarke turned and noticed the way she was looking at her, eyes bright with admiration and smile wide with pride. Her cheeks flared a little darker and she couldn't hold back the grin that grew, she leant over and nudged her shoulder into Lexa's who let out a giggle.

"Well aren't you two the most adorable little nuggets." Raven plopped herself into the seat opposite Lexa with a knowing grin, wiggling her eyebrows at them. Lexa's eyes widened at them being somewhat caught and her cheeks flushed as dark as Clarke's, who was glaring at the girl.

"Ray-"

"Are they being sickly adorable again?" Clarke jumped in her seat and turned to see Octavia standing behind her with large grin on her face. The girl patted the blonde's head then moved to take the remaining seat, barely dodging the swing of Clarke's arm that was aimed for her body.

"They certainly are O." Raven stated nonchalantly before turning to the girl."You know, with the amount of UN-subtle heart eyes and attempts to hide their hands under the table, you'd think they might be dating or something."

"Don't forget the extra long hugs..." Octavia added then tilted her head in thought. "Also the disappearing stunt you pulled yesterday lunch. Y'all think we don't know what you're up to."

"But we do." Raven pointed her fork at the girls, swinging it between the two before stabbing it into her box of leftover pasta and salad.

Lexa turned to Clarke, face flushed, heart beat raised and hands wringing slightly in her lap from nerves that quickly appeared. She wasn't 100% sure why. She wasn't upset about the girls finding out, just a little shocked that they figured it out so soon. She'd hoped that she would be able to have the conversation with her parents about their... whatever it was they were calling it. She'd also hoped that they could actually talk about what it was they were doing. They hadn't had the chance to get together outside of school since Tuesday and although it had only been a few days, it had been playing on her mind since _. 'We weren't that obvious were we?'_ She frowned, then internally berated herself knowing that the girls were only playing. _'Damn shitty anxiety.'_

Clarke watched as the girl looked to her then slowly got lost in her own mental monologue. Her eyebrows drew together, jaw set in her slight frustration, and turned to the girls who saw the change in her mood, shifting in their seats under her gaze. She kicked her foot out and it connected with Octavia's shin who yelped at the sharp pain.

"Ow!" Clarke turned her glare to Raven.

"I would kick you too if I could reach but you're lucky my legs aren't long enough." She began, voice slightly lower than before. "You guys come on. Have a little more fucking tact. There may be a reason why we don't want to announce it to the world yet, did you ever think that? That maybe we haven't decided for ourselves what we want to do about this, or how we want to do this. Maybe we haven't told our parents yet, maybe we are a little worried about how our parents will react or how other people will react. Think guys. We know you mean well but please think before you talk."

Clarke's rant ended a lot more angered than she had planned, something she felt her hormones were partially responsible for, but she didn't regret it. She closed her book, shoved it into her bag and stood before turning back to Lexa, who was watching her slightly taken aback by her outburst. She gave the girl a reassuring smile and extended her hand to her as an offer to join her somewhere else. Her girl nodded, grabbed her things and set her hand in hers. She glanced at the Octavia and Raven as she moved but carried on, raising herself from her seat and letting herself be guided out of the dining hall.

Behind them the girls remained still in their seats, stunned at the suddenness of the girl's anger. They turned to look at each other, half guilty and half confused as to what just happened.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is turning out longer than I expected. I'm unsure as to how far I'm going take this, but we're going to go a bit deeper into the characters now. Hope your happy to stick around for the ride. If you have any suggestions or prompts please send them through.  
> 


	7. A Small Tangent To Scare Me Shitless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Heaven hath no rage like love to hatred turned, nor hell a fury like a woman scorned. There should be a line added that goes something like 'and no place between to hide from the wrath of best friends who's bff you wronged'."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no excuses. I also have no words other than 'We Deserve Better'.

 

 **12:49pm**  
**Ravenator (aka NOT BFF#1)**  
Griffsters I don't know wat happened b4  
but we're sorry? xx

 **12:51pm**  
**Octagon (aka THE REAL #1 BFF)**  
We didnt realise yous were keepin it  
secret, pls talk 2 us C. xxx

 **12:54pm**  
**Octagon (aka THE REAL #1 BFF)**  
Come on Clarke, we know youve seen  
these txts... x

 **12:56pm**  
**Octagon (aka THE REAL #1 BFF)**  
R u gonna give us the 'Seen at 1:28pm'  
treatment?

 **1:01pm**  
**Octagon (aka THE REAL #1 BFF)**  
Did you get caught checkin ur phone in  
class??

 **1:03pm**  
**Ravenator (aka NOT BFF#1)**  
OCTVAVIA! Quit blowing up my phone!  
Pike heard it and threatened to take it.  
WHAT DO YOU MEAN "NOT BBF#1?!" x

 **1:04pm**  
**Octagon (aka THE REAL #1 BFF)**  
Bt she wont reply! I feel bad even tho  
I dont no wat weve done. Ermm, I love  
you??.... x

 **1:09pm**  
**Ravenator (aka BFF#1)**  
How and when did you change it?? Bitch  
it's on. Shes goin to read all these O.  
We just have to wait, shell talk when  
shes ready. x

 **1:14pm**  
**Griffsters**  
Who is 'she' the cat's mother?? Dad's  
doing dinner tonight. Mine @ 5?? x x

 **1:17pm**  
**Octagon (aka THE REAL #1 BFF)**  
CLARKE! SHE'S ALIVE! Bout time C.

 **1:19pm**  
**Octagon (aka THE REAL #1 BFF)**  
Oooo! Wats on da menu?? Tacos? Spag+  
meatballs? He makin pie 4 dessert??

 **1:28pm**  
**Griffsters**  
Fajitas + nutella cheesecake (if there's  
any left by the time you get here - no  
guarantees). Also if you're coming  
straight from tryouts, you need to  
shower. You could clear a hospital  
with that smell. You nearly killed Ma  
last time. x

 **1:30pm**  
**Octagon (aka THE REAL #1 BFF)**  
It's Eau de Octavia.

 **1:31pm**  
**Octagon (aka THE REAL #1 BFF)**  
YUUUMMM - better fuckin be some  
left...

 **1:35pm**  
**Octagon (aka THE REAL #1 BFF)**  
We gonna talk later?

 **1:40pm**  
**Griffster**  
More like Eau de Stench... Yeah. We'll  
 talk more later, but I'm sorry about  
earlier. xxx

 **1:41pm**  
**Octagon (aka THE REAL #1 BFF)**  
I reject that statement. No sorry  
needed. Just wanna kno wat  
happened. Love you.  xxx

 **1:49pm**  
**Ravenator (aka BFF#1)**  
I put away my phone coz of Pike and  
miss everything...  
1\. YES FOOD  
2\. I second Eau de Stench  
3\. Wat O said. No sorry needed.  
See you @ 5 boo. Luv ya. xx

 

-

 

White clouds littered the pale blue sky and a light breeze swayed the branches on the trees behind the playing field, leaves rustic yellows and oranges. The air was still warm in the autumn afternoon and children's shouts could be heard from the play ground in the distance; squealing and shouting their excitement as they chased each other around the swing set and scaled the climbing wall. Teenagers ran around the football pitch on the far side as they played a friendly game with the neighbours, some with their t-shirts off and tied to a belt loop or tossed to the side.

Clarke and Lexa sat alone on the mound near the tree line of the woods, facing the picturesque view of typical suburban life. The blonde sat facing Lexa, leaning on her left arm with legs stretched out, head tilted with a content smile. She took in the other girls expression and excitement while telling her about her London adventures.

"So there's a guy standing in the corner that knows where each character and actor's wands are and, of course, typical Anya saw that as a challenge to try and trip him up." Lexa giggled, leaning back on two hands with her legs crossed. "She named about 12 different people, every so often swapping between character and actor names. He didn't seem too pleased by about the 7th but he kept going and got them all right the first time. Anya wasn't too happy either because she lost her little game."

"I need to meet Anya, she sounds hilarious." Clarke grinned.

"Oh she can be as long as you're not the butt of her joke." Lexa grumbled slightly before a small smile appeared. "She's never spiteful, she just enjoys making you squirm."

"Ok, duly noted." Clarke nodded with a faux frown and semi serious eyes.

"When I say squirm I mean feel tortured. She's a devious little shit and yes it is hilarious as long as you aren't the target." Lexa continued, waving her finger around as if she could point to Anya as the culprit for so many crimes in their household."She changed the wording in my Mom's phone from 'No' to 'Hell yeah' and 'Yes' to 'I'm not so sure sugar plum'. Safe to say that was a stupid move on her part because have you seen my Mom? Do you think she would call someone 'sugar plum'?"

"Erm," Clarke paused, trying to phrase her answer appropriately. "Well, you're Mom is lovely. Really kind and-"

"You can say she is scary Clarke."

"She isn't scary, she is lovely. But ok, yes. If I hadn't met her round yours but seen her on the street, I would have noticed her." Clarke slowed a little again to try and word her answer, shuffling to sit up and cross her legs. "She has an air of authority, the way she holds herself shows her importance. It's kind of comforting though, seeing behind the exterior to see the person for who they truly are."

Clarke drifted off as she looked out over the soft green field. Lexa watched on as the girl moved to get comfortable then faded off into the depth of her mind, blonde strands gently moving in the slight breeze. She stayed still, not wanting to break Clarke out her reverie just yet.

While Clarke was thinking, Lexa took stock of herself. She debated on raising the topic of the small scuffle at lunch time. After they had left Octavia and Raven, Clarke took her to the quiet courtyard by the art department and carried on as if it hadn't happened. This surprised Lexa but she figured she'd given Clarke the space she wanted and squashed her worries down with the thought of Clarke wanting her there. She asked her to come with her, she wanted her company. Now though with no one else around, she thought to ask and see if prompting her would help.

She glanced to the blonde before moving to sit up.

"Clarke," Lexa gently called out, pulling her back.

"Sorry." She quietly replied, clearing her throat and turning to look at Lexa. Her gaze took in long brown curls swept over one shoulder and green eyes watching her with nothing but patience and acceptance. Clarke shuffled closer to Lexa, took one of her hands into her own and intertwined them on her lap before letting out a sigh. "I don't really know why I snapped at them Lexa."

"That's ok." Lexa ran her thumb over the back of Clarke's hand. "How do feel?"

"I.. I think I felt very protective. I know this is new. It's also sudden, it's happened so quick. I looked to you and you looked scared." Clarke looked down to their hands. "I guess I just snapped at them because I don't know the answers to their questions, we haven't talked about this other than taking it slow."

"You're right, we haven't fully talked. We've spent a lot of time talking over the last few days but never really _talked_." Lexa gave a small smile as Clarke's eyes moved back to her own.

"Is it bad that I kind of liked the sneaking around? I liked having something that's mine, that only we know about." She paused before re-wording her answer. "That sounded bad, I didn't mean mine. But what we share-"

"I understand Clarke." The pronunciation of her name, the strong 'k' curling around Lexa's tongue made Clarke's cheeks flush slightly. "It's nice to have something special. Something only we share."

"Yeah." A smile grew on the girls face, turning into a grin when she glances back up to Lexa who's beaming back at her. A few moments pass.

"Do you want to _talk_?" Clarke gave her a gentle nod then replied.

"Yeah, I think we should." She paused to think of the best way to start. "I don't know if there is a best way to start but, how do you feel about this?"

"Feelings is a good place to start." Lexa smiled encouragingly before breathing deeply to calm a few nerves that fluttered at Clarke's question. "Erm... You already know that I like you, I really do Clarke. I guess I feel nervous. I've never been in a proper relationship. I mean I'm dated someone but it wasn't going anywhere."

"That's ok. I feel nervous too. I've dated a guy before but that didn't work out. I had a girlfriend for about 5 months last year but I learned that she isn't the monogamous type like she pretended to be."

"That's shitty Clarke. I'm sorry." Clarke smirked and Lexa frowned.

"Yeah I'm not. I learned a lot and looking back I recognise the signs. Her name was Brogan and minus the rose tinted glasses, of which I had a very tinted pair, she was very manipulative and selfish. I took the glasses off and realised what she had been doing. A few tears and hugs from Octavia and Raven and I was fine. Next day I walked into school, heard shouting and of course I recognised the voices." She smiled as she remembered the day. "I ran around the corner to see Octavia glaring up at Brogan and Raven threatening that the chemicals caused a minor explosion in the science lab last year, were her own concoction and she was not afraid to make more things go boom."

Clarke let out a loud laugh at the end, throwing her back with eyes closed remembering the image engrained in her memory. She opened her eyes and looked to Lexa who had paled slightly and had a slightly worried smile on her face.

"What's wrong?" Clarke frowned.

"Just taking in the potential wrath of your friends." Lexa stated with nervous giggle.

"'Heaven hath no rage like love to hatred turned, nor hell a fury like a woman scorned.' There should be a line added that goes something like 'and no place between to hide from the wrath of best friends who's bff you wronged'." Clarke witfully laughed before sighing. "They are protective Lexa, but that's because they've seen the damage people can do to other people by words or actions - more so than most people. They just don't want that for me. Like I don't want them to suffer any more than they have."

Lexa nodded and took a moment to understand what Clarke was trying to tell her. She continued to run her finger over the back of the girls hand, taking comfort from the motion as well as offering it.

"You'll be fine Lex. You may have 'the talk' from them but they want to be friends with you too." Lexa nodded with understanding.

"Erm.. Question. Was that explosion really caused by Raven?" Lexa asked with another nervous giggle.

"Oh yeah, that was her. To be honest though that was kinda tame, ask her about setting the roof of the science building on fire during her Chemistry day camp last summer." Clarke winked and Lexa's eyes widened slightly. "Don't worry no one was hurt."

"That's very reassuring Clarke."

"Just saying. It's a good story." She smirked at the look on Lexa's face as the girl glared at her. "Anyways, back to feelings. I went off on a tangent, sorry."

"Oh no it's fine,  just a small tangent to scare me shitless. All is good. No nervousness about random explosions or my roof catching fire." The girl ranted humorously causing Clarke to laugh. "Just letting you know I'm not letting her near the stove or the BBQ."

"That's fare. We have similar rules too." She shivered slightly in the breeze and moved to pull her jacket on around her shoulders.

"You warm enough with that?"

"Yeah, this is fine." Clarke checked her watch and saw it was 4:05pm, they still had time. She turned back to Lexa. "Ok back to the previous conversation. As I said kinda I'm nervous too. I don't have much experience of dating and stuff. But I do like you." She said with a smile. She raised her hand to tuck a stray strand of hair behind Lexa's ear and allowed her fingers to caress her check, causing a slight blush to appear in their wake. "It is sudden. I'm a little nervous but I really like spending time and getting to know you."

"I enjoy it too." Lexa thought for a second with a smile. "So.. What do you think we should do about us? Do you want to wait and spend time before saying we are something?"

"I don't think we need a label yet if that's ok?" Clarke suggested and Lexa nodded with understanding. "I do want to tell me parents that we are something, if that's ok?"

"Of course Clarke."

"We're very close and I tell them pretty much everything. I just wanted to be sure you're ok with it first."

"That's fine. We know my parents understand something is going on from when you came round. Maybe we should talk to them about it over the weekend."

"That sounds like a plan." Clarke smiled. "What about school? How do you feel about being open about us in front of everyone?"

"I am happy to be open if you are but I know you said you liked to have something only we shared. I'm ok with whatever you're comfortable with." Lexa said.

"I did like that." She thought for a moment before continuing. "But I think I'm ok with being open if you are comfortable with it too. It was nice but I also don't want to hide at the same time. We are taking our time and figuring things out. We can be open about that too."

"That sounds good. I'm happy with that." Lexa smiled.

"What about kissing?" Clarke glanced down at their hands then up to green eyes. "Are you ok with me kissing you in school?"

"I'm happy as long as you're comfortable. I mean making out in the middle of the corridor and being put in detention isn't what I have in mind." Lexa joked.

"What about making out in janitors closets or under the bleachers?" Clarke raised an eyebrow and slowly leaned forward towards Lexa.

"Now that I'm not opposed to." She smirked before moving forward to meet Clarke in a gentle kiss.

 

-

 

Clarke's hand edged closer to the mouth-watering dessert when it was suddenly smacked with a spatula. She quickly retracted her hand with a pout and looked to Jake with wide blue eyes. He moved his hand from behind his back to reveal the small amount of leftover Nutella in the jar and set it on the island countertop, sliding along to Clarke. She scooped it up excitedly when she sudden felt a light slap to the back of her head. She looked around to her father with an offended look on her face.

"You know better than to touch my creations before I say so." Jake playfully glared pointing the spatula at her before tossing it low in the air to grab the top and offer Clarke the handle with a smile. She grinned and began to scrape out the remaining sugary goodness from the edges.

"You're other daughters will be joining us in-" The door bell rang throughout the house followed by the sound of the front door opening and closing.

"Griffin family!" Octavia called.

"The only time they are ever early is when food is involved."

"You're favourite daughters have come home!"

"Don't we know it." Jake winks before calling out "In the kitchen girls!" Clarke laughs a little as the footsteps grew louder and her friends appeared in the doorway.

"4:53, must be a new record for you two." Clarke teased.

"Well you said there would be dessert and we know what you're like princess." Raven pointed to the blonde.

"There would be none left, so we thought the earlier the better." Octavia added, moving towards the divine food and sniffing.

"You made it in time, I just caught someone trying to sneak a piece before dinner." Jake smiled from the kitchen sink, rinsing the last few dishes. "You girls know the rules." They all groaned.

"But that's not fair Clarke got to scoop the last of the jar and lick the spatula." Raven moaned.

"Guess you should have been 10 minutes early rather than 7." The girls glared at Clarke who licked the spatula again for emphasis.

"Right. Out of my kitchen. Dinner is at 6:30. Scram so I can get organised." Jake ordered as he began to move around the kitchen.

"Yes sir." The girls saluted and made their way out of the room, through to the hallway and up the large staircase to Clarke's room.

"So is Mama G home for dinner today?" Octavia asked, dropping her bag by the white chest of drawers near the door. The bedroom walls were a duck egg blue with the fourth covered in beautiful blue and white floral wallpaper behind the large bed. A desk sat in the alcove by a large window and a loveseat was pushed up by the window on the left wall opposite the bed, scattered with décor matching cushions.

"Yep. She took an extra shift overnight to help cover staff shortage. A few have gone down with a bug and as chief she sent anyone home that had potential symptoms." Clarke said after flopping onto her bed. Octavia climbed up beside her and laid perpendicular to her, resting her head and shoulders on the blonde with her bare feet on the pillows. "Ooo, you smell nice."

"Thanks. No Eau de Octavia at your request."

"I still stand by Clarke's Eau de Stench." Raven commented, as she perched at the edge of the bed and lifted her trouser leg to remove her brace.

"It does have a ring to it."

"Oh come on you love me."

"Yes we do..." Clarke nodded before tilting her head. "Minus the post football smell."

"Fuck you, that smell won us the league and beat Mountain Vista for the State Championship last year." Octavia proudly stated. Raven pulled herself onto the bed and manoeuvred herself to sit comfortable against the headboard, hand massaging the marks left from her brace through her jeans.

"Win or no win, you could've cleared the stadium after that final." She paused before grinning wickedly. "No wonder they left so quick." Octavia simply raised her head and flipped up her middle finger at the girl.

"Can we move on before you leave me with no self esteem what so ever." She rolled her eyes and smiled as Raven blew her a kiss.

"I guess I owe you guys an apology." Clarke shift to sit up and move Octavia's head into her lap, running her fingers through the girls hair. "I'm sorry I snapped at you guys. I know you guys were only being nice and having fun. It's partially because my uterus it about to through its monthly fit-"

"Shit is it that time already?"  Octavia moaned.

"Yep, I know we fell out of sync over the summer but the 'Alpha' oestrogen in blondie over there has us doomed O." Raven looked to Clarke who had her eyebrows raised. "Sorry, carry on."

"So hormones played a small part but after talking things through with Lexa there's a few other things I realised were going on. A) we hadn't talked about things other than taking it slow, I didn't know what slow was for us. B) I admitted to her I kinda liked having it a secret, even just for a couple of days." She looked between the girls who watched her without judging, just smiled and nodded with understanding. "It was something only we knew about and I don't know, I guess I found that special and exciting."

"That makes sense princess."

"The other thing was when Lexa turned to me, she looked scared you guys. She's mentioned her anxiety to me before and although she seems to be doing ok and settling in and stuff, my mind just jumped into protective mode." Clarke frowned. "I didn't know I could jump into protective mode after 5 days."

"Sometimes it happens quick. You just have that connection with someone." Octavia looks up at her. "Continuing on those lines, how do you feel about Lexa? I know it's been busy so we've not had the chance to fully talk in the last few days."

"I like her you guys." Clarke blushed and looked down to her fingers braiding hair, ignoring the girls' eyes. "She's sweet. I like finding out things about her. I like how she gets really animated when telling me a story about her family and she uses her hands lot to emphasis things and stuff which is adorable. She's patient too."

"Did she ask you about Finn?" Clarke shook her head.

"No, she hasn't brought up anything since the stunt he pulled Tuesday."

"During which, can I say again, she was amazing."  Raven said. "What a asshole. Mommy and Daddy's little angel can do no wrong, add to it said parents are strong republicans and Trump supporters."

"I don't know what made him into even more of a bitter, self obsessed dick over the summer but he's at a new level." Octavia grumbled. "Bell flipped when I told him."

"I know it's something I need to talk to her about soon. I can't believe I dated that fucker."

"Neither can we."

"I can still blow him up."

"Yeah, no that won't be necessary." Clarke paused for a moment, eradicating any thoughts of him and focusing on the girl she admired. "Speaking of explosions, I think I scared Lex a little when I talked about your discussion with Brogan."

"Ahh, now that was fun."  

"You know we can rework that little talk." Octavia suggested with a sly grin while wriggling her eyebrows. "Give her 'The Talk'."

"Ooo, now we're talking." Raven rubbed her hands together.

Clarke gave a big sigh. They would get way too much pleasure out of scaring the girl.

**Author's Note:**

> ophelias-heart on Tumblr.


End file.
